Research

I am currently a 4th year PhD student working with Prof. Robert C. Kennicutt.  My project focuses on understanding the properties of resolved populations of star forming regions within the nearby galaxies. 

I use multi-wavelength photometric data ranging from GALEX far ultraviolet to the Spitzer mid-infrared (MIPS 24).  We use Halpha nebular emission as the primary tracer of young star formation.  We study how the view of cluster population varies between FUV and Halpha data.  The variations in effective dust attenuation values on a region-to-region basis are highlighted by our studies of nearby galaxies.

I am interested in how these properties vary according to the reference wavelength used to define the regions themselves.  I am also interested in whether the population properties change between dwarf and spiral galaxies, hinting at different modes of star formation.

I am also a member of the Binary Populations And Spectral Synthesis (BPASS) team.  BPASS is a stochastic stellar population synthesis code based on the Cambridge STARS models. It accounts for the effects of binary evolution on the observable properties of star clusters and galaxies.  Due to the stochastic sampling of the IMF, it is particularly suitable for modelling of objects with low star formation rates.

Career

• 2009-current:  PhD student, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge
• 2005-2009: undergraduate reading Natural Sciences Trinpos: Astrophysics at Trinity College, University of Cambridge,

Qualifications

• MSci, BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences (Astrophysics), Trinity College, University of Cambridge, 2009

Awards and Prizes

• Elisabeth Grose Prize
• STFC PhD Studentship, 2009
• Trinity College Senior Scholar, 2007
• Trinity College Junior Scholar, 2006

Professional Organizations

• Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society
• Junior Member, European Astronomical Society
• Junior Member, American Astronomical Society
• Fellow, Cambridge Philosophical Society
• Associate Member, Institute of Physics