Graduate Student Research


Our current graduate students are engaged in a wide variety of research projects summarized below.
Jacob  Arnold  
I am interested in the dynamics involved in the evolution and interaction of galaxy systems, in particular, the processes involved with close galaxy passes and mergers. However, there are many other interesting areas of astrophysics that I would be content to pursue.

jacobatucolick [dot] org
831-459-4885
NSII 185
Judy  Cheng  
I am currently working with Sandra Faber and Genevieve Graves at UC Santa Cruz to study the properties of red galaxies. I am trying to determine a method of classifying red galaxies imaged by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey using an automated program. Of particular interest is a method of distinguishing between red elliptical galaxies and red disk galaxies. These two types are likely to have followed different evolutionary tracks, and classifying a large samples of red galaxies is the first step toward understanding the nature of these differences.

jycatucolick [dot] org
831-459-3259
ISB 131
Edmond  Cheung  
I am currently working with David Koo on high redshift galactic bulges. I hope to be able to contribute to the puzzle of how galactic bulges form, whether through secular processes or violent mergers or something in between.

echeung1atucsc [dot] edu
831-459-4485
ISB 355
Candace  Church Joggerst  
I'm primarily interested in studying type-II supernovae with (magneto)hydrodynamics codes. I'm currently using the FLASH code to model the Rayleigh-Taylor instability that mixes the stllar layers as the explosive shock propagates through the star. This instability determines the nucleosynthetic yields and influences the observation signatures of type-II supernovae.

cchurchatucolick [dot] org
831-502-7258
NSII 187
Robert  da Silva  
I'm a second year graduate student in the Astronomy program at UCSC. My advisor is J. X. Prochaska and my main area of research is looking at quasars in merging systems and investigating new methods of measuring relevant physical details of these systems.

rdasilvaatucsc [dot] edu
831-459-5722
ISB 255
Claire  Dorman  

cdormanatucsc [dot] edu
831-459-4485
ISB 355
Maria F.  Duran Sierra  
I am mainly interested in observational extragalactic astronomy. Currently, I am working with integrated light spectra of extragalactic globular clusters to obtain their metallicities. Using this technique we can constrain theories of galaxy formation and evolution. (Advisor: R. Bernstein)

mduransiatucsc [dot] edu
831-459-5722
ISB 255
Jerome  Fang  
I am currently working with Sandra Faber and Genevieve Graves (UC Berkeley) analyzing images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope of a set of galaxies that have recently arrived on the red sequence, i.e., star formation in these galaxies may have been recently "quenched". We aim to determine the source of excess UV flux detected in these galaxies and to locate regions of residual star formation, which in turn may be indicative of specific quenching mechanisms.

jjfangatucsc [dot] edu
831-459-4485
ISB 355
Michele  Fumagalli  
My research is focused on the galaxy formation and evolution. I'm studying the physics of the star formation and the gas in both local and distant galaxies; I'm interested in the ISM/IGM interaction to understand the effects of the different environments on the galaxy evolution.

mfumagalliatucolick [dot] org
831-459-5722
ISB 255
Nathan  Goldbaum  
I am currently working with Mark Krumholz to study the effect of star formation on the structure of galactic disks. I will be using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics code GADGET-2 along with a semi-analytic prescription for giant molecular cloud evolution to realistically simulate the formation of galactic spiral arms in space and time. My simulated galaxies will eventually be used to interpret observations of nearby galaxies made by the Spitzer Space Telescope.

goldbaumatucolick [dot] org
831-459-5722
ISB 255
Valentino  Gonzalez-Corvalan  
Currently, I'm working with LRIS (Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) data to study the complexity of the DEEP 2 (Deep Evolutionary Probe) survey sample. The sub-sample I'm working with corresponds to galaxies whose redshift couldn't be identified with the original DEIMOS (Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph) spectra. The initial goal of my project is to find out the reason for that with a big potential of finding sub-samples of interesting and not yet studied objects.

tinoatucolick [dot] org
831-502-7258
NSII 187
Javiera  Guedes  
I'm currently working on the dynamics of black hole recoil and its role on galaxy evolution. The recoil is caused by strong, beamed gravitational wave emission during a black hole merging even and may result in the ejection of black hole system from its host galaxies. This process may be responsible for the depletion of black holes at the center of dwarf galaxies and globular clusters and lead to a population of black holes in the IGM.

javieraatucolick [dot] org
831-459-2774
ISB 159
James  Guillochon  
I am currently using numerical simulations coupling hydrodynamics and radiation to study close encounters between main sequence stars and black holes. In addition, I look at the light produced in these simulations to predict what these events would look like to observers on Earth. I am also interested in other computational astrophysics problems.

jfgatucolick [dot] org
831-459-2774
ISB 159
Kirsten  Howley  
I am currently working on a project involving the interaction between the dwarf elliptical, NGC 205 and the Andromeda spiral galaxy. Other interests including galaxy-galaxy lensing, weak gravitational lensing (cosmic shear), cosmic strings, and numerical optimization techniques.

kirstenatucolick [dot] org
831-459-3979
ISB 133
Jess  Johnson  
My research interests are currently divided in two directions. I am working with Don Gavel, Claire Max, and the Laboratory for Adaptive Optics, investigating new methods of wavefront sensing (Pyramid Wavefront Sensing) and new configurations for adaptive optics systems (Woofer/Tweeter AO). I am also beginning to work with Greg Laughlin, investigating both the modeling of planetary atmospheres and mechanisms for the dispersal of life through the galaxy.

jjohnsonatucolick [dot] org
831-459-1637
CfAO 113
Bulent  Kiziltan  
My primary research focuses on Neutron Stars, Pulsars, Supernova Remnants and related phenomena. I am currently a part of the GLAST (Gamma-Ray Large Area Sky Telescope) collaboration. We are trying to review the current status of pulsar observations and their implications to evolutionary theories. In the past, I have been involved with the radio observations of pulsars in Arecibo, Puerto Rico; X-ray observations of Neutron stars in SNRs with Chandra; and creating a pipeline+database for Hubble-WFPC2 parallel data. In the future, I am planning on getting more involved with 3-D anelastic magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of Neutron Star-Magnetar formation, Gamma-Ray observations of pulsars as well as modelling orbital behaviour of extrasolar planets. (Advisor: Thorsett)

bulentatucolick [dot] org
831-459-3841
ISB 291
Priya  Kollipara  
I am interested in cosmology and galaxy formation and evolution. My current research studies the manner in which galaxies acquire mass via mergers vs. smooth gaseous infall and examines the resulting impacts on the star formation rate, galactic morphologies, and stellar chemodynamics.

pkatucolick [dot] org
831-459-3979
ISB 133
Katherine  Kretke  
My main research interest is planet formation. I am currently working with Doug Lin studying dust grain growth and dynamics in protoplanetary disks.

kretkeatucolick [dot] org
831-459-3259
ISB 131
Laura  Lopez  
My primary research interests are in high-energy astrophysical phenomena (e.g., jets, accretion disks, explosions). Presently, I am working with Dr. Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz to develop new mathematical approaches to quantify ejecta properties in supernova and gamma-ray burst explosions. We apply methods to measure the relative distributions and abundances of individual ions as a means to probe the explosion histories and evolutions of SNR and GRBs. (Advisor: Ramirez-Ruiz)

lopezatastro [dot] ucsc [dot] edu
831-459-2774
ISB 159
Eric  Lopez  
I am currently working with Jonathan Fortney and Eliza-Miller Ricci on modeling super earth atmospheres. I also worked with Sandy Faber and Genevieve Graves on SDSS red sequence galaxies. I searhced for relations between the masses, ages, and morphologies in order to understand quenching and group processes.

edlopezatucsc [dot] edu
831-459-4485
ISB 355
Haitao  Ma  
I am currently using a 2D grid-based code to study the carbon ignition in type Ia supernovae. I plan to use 3D spectral method to study this in the future. Also I am interested in studying convection in massive stars with 2D and 3D numerical simulation. (Advisor: Woosley)

maatucolick [dot] org
831-459-3841
ISB 291
Rosalie  McGurk  

rmcgurkatucsc [dot] edu
831-459-4485
ISB 355
Anne  Medling  
I am working with Claire Max and Mark Ammons on OSIRIS integral field spectroscopy of NGC6240, two colliding AGN. My current focus involves using the stellar kinematics of CO bandhead absorption in the central parts of each nucleus to find constraints on masses of the black holes.

amedlingatucolick [dot] org
831-459-5722
ISB 255
Stefano  Meschiari  
I am intersted in working on theoretical topics in the field of stellar dynamics and celestial mechanics. In particular, I am interested in the understanding and modelling of the structure of elliptical galaxies; the formation and dynamical properties of extrasolar planetary systems; N-body simulations of stellar systems; and the role of chaos in galaxies.

smeschiaatucolick [dot] org
831-459-2774
ISB 159
Neil  Miller  
I am interested in stellar physics, and more generally hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics in all astrophysical contexts. Recent work has been in modeling convection with Reynolds stress closure models. (Adviser: Garaud)

neilatastro [dot] ucsc [dot] edu
831-459-2774
ISB 159
Katie  Morzinski  
Katie does research for the CfAO in the Laboratory for Adaptive Optics. She studies how the physical characteristics of MEMS deformable mirrors affects their performance, and how this limits aberrations that can be corrected for with AO. This work focuses on the extreme adaptive optics coronagraphic planet-imager being developed for the Gemini telescope. (Advisor: Max)

ktmorzatucolick [dot] org
831-459-5891
CfAO 113
Mark  Mozena  
I am working with Claire Max, David Koo, and Mark Ammons on the COSMOS field. I am using observations from HST and Keck adaptive optics. I am studying the color and size of the bulge to disk components of galaxies. I am looking at the morphology of the bulge and disk components in K and I bands. I am using GALFIT, Gim2D, and GALAPAGOS to make these multicomponent fits of the galaxies.

mmozenaatucolick [dot] org
831-459-3009
CfAO 111
Jill  Naiman  
I am interested in computational and theoretical astrophysics with a possible emphasis on accretion disk theory.

jnaimanatucolick [dot] org
831-459-2782
ISB 332
Shannon  Patel  
I study galaxies in the outskirts of two massive clusters at z~0.8 that will become cluster members by z=0. While these infalling galaxies will transform into the familiar passively evolving ellipticals and S0s that occupy the cores of clusters today, at half the age of the universe their morphologies and star formation histories may have been very different. The goal of my thesis is to understand the properties of these future cluster members using a combination of ground based (Keck, Magellan, du Pont) and space based data (HST, Spitzer, Chandra).

patelatucolick [dot] org
831-459-3809
ISB 113
Valery  Rashkov  
I am interested in extragalactic astrophysics. I would like to try both observational and theoretical work before I decide what I would like to concentrate in.

vrashkovatucsc [dot] edu
831-459-5722
ISB 255
Luke  Roberts  
I am interested in stellar explosions and nucleosynthesis. Currently, I am working on understanding nuclear reaction flow during type I x-ray bursts using monte carlo techniques to determine how sensitive the nuclear energy generation rate is to uncertainties in particular nuclear reactions.

lrobertsatucolick [dot] org
831-459-4885
NSII 185
Kate  Rubin  
I am studying white dwarfs in open clusters for my second-year project. I hope to further constrain the relationship between the main sequence masses of stars and the masses of the white dwarfs they produce.

rubinatastro [dot] ucsc [dot] edu
831-459-3809
ISB 113
Laurel  Ruhlen  
Laurel studies hysteresis and jet-formation in persistant black hole binary systems.

lruhlenatucsc [dot] edu
831-459-2782
ISB 332
Kevin  Schlaufman  
I'm interested in exoplanets, planet formation, and the structure and formation of the Milky Way. I also like to think about the application of probability and statistics to theoretical and observational astrophysics, in particular stochastic modeling, multivariate analysis, and data mining.

kcsatucolick [dot] org
831-459-2725
ISB 331
Rachel  Strickler  
Broadly, my research involves stellar evolution (particularly in binaries) and stellar populations. I discovered a sequence of 24 objects in the nearby globular cluster NGC 6397 that have magnitudes and colors consistent with those of helium-core white dwarfs (He WDs). This is the first such sequence of individually identified He WDs found in a globular cluster. I am currently working on two main projects: (1) writing theoretical simulations of the interacting wind region of WR 20a, a binary system consisting of two 80 solar mass Wolf-Rayet stars (advisor: Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz) and (2) analyzing pre- and post- supernova (SN) images in order to determine the properties of the host clusters, if any, in which SNe are born (advisors: Justyn Maund, Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz).

rstrickleratucolick [dot] org
831-459-2782
ISB 332
Angie  Wolfgang  

awolfganatucsc [dot] edu
831-459-4485
ISB 355