Research

I'm currently working on an analysis of the physical distribution and kinematics of metals (MgII, CIV, and OVI) in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of Milky Way type galaxies using absoprtion features in synthetic spectra of Quasar sight lines. I use the Mockspec code (created by Dr. Rachel Vander-Vliet) to create 1000 lines of sight through a simulated galaxy and study the absorption features in the synthetic spectra to learn about metals in the CGM. These simulation results are compared with observed galaxies at z ~ 0.2 that have detected MgII or OVI. This work is done in collaboration with Dr. Chris Churchill at New Mexico State University, Dr. Glenn Kacprzak and Dr. Nikki Nielsen at Swinburne University of Technology, and Dr. Rachel Vander-Vliet at NASA Ames. I spent 6 weeks in the Summer of 2018 as a visiting researcher at Swinburne University of Technology for this project. (May 2017 - present)
"Spatial Distribution of OVI Covering Fractions in the Simulated Circumgalactic Medium" Marra et al. 2020


I spent a year working with Dr. Kristian Finlator on determining the probability of a galaxy being a Lyman-alpha emitter (LAE) in the high redshift universe. This was done by modeling a galaxy's intrinsic properties using a variety of scaling relations to predict the Lyman-alpha equivalent width for high redshift galaxies. Using this prediction we can determine how the fraction of Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs) changes with redshift to constrain the end of the Epoch of Reionization by taking the fraction of LAEs as a prozy for the fraction of neutral Hydrogen. (May 2017 - May 2018)


I worked with Dr. Tom Harrison to do a spectral analysis on Gemini North data for 3 Cataclysmic Variable (CV) star systems. We determined the abundance ratios of Carbon isotopes in the CV secondary stars using a modified version of MOOG. Our results were published in ApJ on July 14, 2017. (July 2016- May 2017)

I did an Academic Year REU at the State University of New York at New Paltz with Dr. Anca Radulescu in applied mathematics and theoretical biology. We worked together to created a model of interactions between different parts of the brain to allow a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(OCD) with a functional-MRI image of the brain. Our results were published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology in 2016. (2015/2016 Academic Year)