I am a second-year PhD student in Professor Oliver Shorttle's group, studying the atmospheres of hot rocky planets. In our solar system, Venus exemplifies the fate of a planet that orbits too close to its host star: a catastrophic runaway greenhouse effect leading to the loss of all liquid water and hellish surface conditions. Understanding the factors that led to this outcome on Venus helps us identify the conditions necessary for such processes to occur on exoplanets, refining our understanding of the inner edge of the habitable zone.
My recent work has focused on ozone production in Venus' upper atmosphere and the potential for ozone to present a false-positive biosignature on Venus-like exoplanets. Currently, I am extending my research on hot rocky exoplanets to include the sub-Neptune regime, particularly focusing on 'Magma Worlds.' There has been recent interest in Hycean worlds—planets with vast liquid oceans and hydrogen-dominated atmospheres—and their potential to support life. However, distinguishing observationally between Hycean worlds and sub-Neptunes with molten surfaces, or 'Magma Worlds,' remains a critical challenge.
Selected papers
Helling, C., Samra, D., Lewis, D., Calder, R., Hirst, G., Woitke, P., ... & Chubb, K. L. (2023). Exoplanet weather and climate regimes with clouds and thermal ionospheres-A model grid study in support of large-scale observational campaigns. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 671, A122. Link to arxiv
Career
PhD in Astronomy: Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge (2023-present)
Part II supervisor: Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge (2023-present)
MPhys Astrophysics: University of St Andrews (2018-2023)
Qualifications
MPhys Astrophysics: University of St Andrews, Graduated with First Class Honours
Awards and Prizes
2023 - Class Medal, University of St Andrews, for highest graded student in Masters (MPhys) year
2021-2022 - Laidlaw Leadership and Research Scholarship, University of St Andrews, involving an undergraduate project with the University of St Andrews and a Leadership in Action project with the Laidlaw Foundation
2018-2023 - Deans Scholar, University of St Andrews
