I am a PhD candidate at North Carolina State University, where I study the lives and deaths of massive stars.
My research focuses on how uncertainties in stellar evolution affect the final, tumultuous nuclear burning phases preceding the star’s explosion or collapse into a black hole. My work aims to decode the multimessenger “death cries” emitted by dying stars to understand their internal structures and nuclear physics. I am a member of the MESA development team and the SuperNova Early Warning (SNEWS) 2.0 collaboration. I am also a teaching assistant at NC State and adjunct faculty at Wake Technical Community College. When I’m not modeling stellar interiors or teaching about them, you can find me playing the saxophone in local jazz ensembles or at jam sessions.
I will defend in May 2027 and am applying for postdoctoral positions. If you know of any relevant opportunities, I would be happy to chat!
Interests
- Stellar evolution and massive stars
- Core-collapse supernovae and supernova progenitors
- Astrophysical neutrinos: pre-supernova emission, flavor transformation, detector signals
- Uncertainty propagation