I am a Five College Astronomy Department (FCAD) Research and Education Fellow at Amherst College. I study the young, low-mass stars known as T Tauri Stars and their surrounding protoplanetary disks. In particular, I study magnetospheric accretion, which is the transfer of material from the inner regions of the disk onto the star via funneling by magnetic field lines. I use models, simulations, and observations to study the emission from shocks that form as the accreting material strikes the stellar surface at supersonic speeds. At Amherst College, I am working with Professor Kate Follette to understand the differences between accretion onto stars and accretion onto smaller objects like brown dwarfs and planets. In addition to my research,  I teach ASTR 337 (Observational Techniques) and ASTR 341 (Observational Astronomy) at Amherst College as a part of my FCAD Fellowship. 

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I went to the University of Montana in Missoula and majored in Physics with a concentration in Astronomy.  While there, I worked with Professor Nate McCrady on exoplanet research and assisted with the commissioning of the MINiature Exoplanet Radial Velocity Array (MINERVA). I completed my B.A. in 2014.

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I then transitioned to Boston University, where I completed my Ph.D. with Professor Catherine Espaillat. My dissertation was titled "Accretion Variability in Young, Low-mass Stellar Systems". I completed my degree in 2020. 

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