Bio

  • Current position

    I am currently an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and director of the C.E.K. Mees Observatory at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. My research interests include observational cosmology, cosmic voids, galaxy formation and evolution, dark matter structure, and statistical analysis of large data sets. I am currently working with SDSS and DESI data, studying galaxy kinematics in an effort to understand the connection between a galaxy's stellar mass, dark matter halo mass, and large-scale environment. I am also a member of the DESI collaboration.
    • Presentation at Astrophilly 2015
    Astrophilly 2015

  • Past

    A native of Doylestown, Pennsylvania (located in the historic Bucks County), I graduated from Central Bucks High School East in 2007. I hold a B.A. in Physics and Mathematics with minors in Astronomy and Dance from Cornell University (class of 2011). While there, I was a First Hand in the Costume Shop of the Department of Theater, Film, and Dance, where I had the opportunity to alter and create numerous costumes for their many stage productions. I also assisted in teaching CS 1101 (Introduction to MATLab) in addition to teaching social dancing with IthacaDance.

    While at Cornell University, I conducted research with Cornell's Submillimeter Astrophysics Group. Under the supervision of Prof. Gordon Stacey and chief engineer Stephen Parshley, I helped redesign and build components of the High-Redshift (Z) Early Universe Spectrometer-2 (ZEUS-2).

    I later went on to earn my M.S. in Physics from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Having always enjoyed teaching, I was able to expand my teaching repetoire at Drexel, particularly with the Contemporary Physics track for freshmen physics majors. This series of courses combines traditional freshmen physics material with added topics like quantum mechanics and relativity, utilizing a scientific python programming component to help visualize the concepts.

    I earned my Doctorate in Physics at Drexel University in 2017, under the advisement of Prof. Michael S. Vogeley. My thesis was on the observational evidence of the large-scale environmental influence on dwarf galaxy evolution.

  • Hobbies

    Outside the classroom, I am an amateur latin and ballroom dancer; when I get the chance, I also continue my ballet and modern dance training. I also enjoy reading, sewing, and playing the clarinet and bass clarinet.