Astrophysics Graduate Student
Department of Astronomy
University of Minnesota
I am a graduate student in the astronomy department at the University of Minnesota. I completed my undergraduate studies at Gustavus Adolphus College where I received a B.A. in both physics and mathematics. Currently I am working with Evan D. Skillman to study the chemical evolution of Galaxies. In particular I have been investigating outliers from the mass-metallicity relation by analyzing spectra of HII regions. Plans of future work include using the LBT to probe the metallicity of galaxies as a function of radius. Other past research has included looking for multiple stages of protein folding by determining the circular dichroism, fluoroscopy, and absorption properties (Michigan State University) and exploring alternative energy storage solutions for large scale wind turbines (Gustavus Adolphus College). I have also had the opportunity to attend many Nobel Conferences in which I have met many admirable scientists including Nobel Laureates Steven Chu and Wolfgang Ketterle, and string theorist S. James Gates. I am currently a 2nd year graduate student taking classes and teaching 3 introductory astronomy labs.
Outside of academia my family raises upland bird hunting dogs and show several horses. Another big part of my life is athletics, so after finishing my gymnastics career at Gustavus, I now teach step aerobics at Time Out Pilates and Fitness. I also love to run, go salsa dancing, and travel. This is one of my favorite parts of astronomy; since so many telescopes are located in amazing places, it is exciting to be able to see magnificent scientific tools while exploring new places!