Assistant Professor of Astronomy
University of North Georgia
My primary interests lie in stellar evolution theory, which is a very broad and all-encompassing
field of stellar astrophysics. Specifically, I work with stellar evolution models—a computational
realization of the mathematical theory—that numerically implements a vast array of physics to
simulate the interior conditions of stars. The main goal of stellar evolution models is to understand
in detail what physical processes contribute to the observed properties of stars. That means models tie
observable properties of stars (i.e., photometry and spectoscopy) to the fundamental properties of the
stars that produce those observables (i.e., mass, radius, temperature). However, the validity of the
“transformation” from observables to fundamental properties (and vice versa) requires that
the model physics be accurate (meaning correct). That is where my research comes into the picture: I enjoy
testing and modifying the current physics as well as adding new physics, when necessary. Details about individual projects are listed below.
A simple recipe for a stellar evolution model can be found here.
Summary: 24 refereed publications, 8 first-author.
See a comprehensive listing on my publications page.
It generally takes more than one astronomer to screw in a light bulb, or to write
a paper, as the case may be. As such, I work with a number of excellent scientists
located across the globe.
Read about some of them on my collaborators page.
