A little about me...
I recieved a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Astrophysics from the University of Minnesota in May 2009, and I am currently a graduate student at the University of Wyoming. Until recently my research has focused on studying the spectral evolution of classical novae with L. Andrew Helton at the University of Minnesota. Classical novae occur in binary systems where a white dwarf star has accreted enough matter from a main sequence companion star to trigger nuclear fusion on the surface of the star that leads to a thermonuclear runaway ejecting the accreted material into the interstellar medium.
Lately I have also been reducing spectral data for Dan Kiminiki and Chip Kobulnicky on binary stars in the Cygnus OB2 Association. These observation were perfomed using the Wyoming Infrared Observatory's long slit spectrograph to obtain radial velocity measurements in order to determine the periodocity of these binary star systems.
I have also been working with Mike Pierce on the assembly of the Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrograph (NIIS) a massive infrared instrument being built for use as a visiting instrument at the Apache Point 3.5-meter telescope.
I have also started a project to study Intermediate-Mass Star Forming Regions using data from SOFIA and JCMT, as well as archival data from the UKIDSS and WISE catalogs.
Oh and a piece of advice... keep the snow off the primary!
University of Wyoming - Physics & Astronomy | University of Minnesota Astronomy