My research is focused on figuring out what happens when the supermassive black holes thought to exist in the centers of galaxies (including our own) consume stars. It may be possible to observe these black holes eating their lunch by analyzing the images compiled by the Hubble Space Telescope over the last few decades. These tidal disruption events can teach us about active galactic nuclei and the evolutionary history of galaxies. In addition, they may eventually provide a laboratory to test the strong-field regime of our theories of gravitation. I also have a strong interest in the history of scientific thought and how science propagates through society.
Research Interests
Extragalactic Astronomy, Tidal Disruption Events, Hubble Space Telescope. History of Scientific Thought
BS College of Creative Studies, UC Santa Barbara / MS Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology / PhD Candidate Physics, UC Santa Barbara
Recent Courses Taught
(at UC Santa Barbara) Introductory Astronomy, Observational Astronomy, Intermediate Mechanics, Mathematical Methods of Theoretical Physics, Origins: A Dialogue between Scientists and Humanists
