Current Research
I currently conduct research under Dr. Diana Dragomir at the Univeristy of New Mexico within her exoplanet team. I work primarily with Ph.D. cnadidate Brett Skinner, with a goal of improving detection of exoplanets. A key method of exoplanet detection is by observing transits via stellar light fluxuations, where the planets pass in front of earth's view of their host star, causing a dip in the data. These dips can be identified with machine learning models. Dragomir's team focuses primarily on exoplanets with only one dip in data due to a longer orbital period, so my goal is to improve the currently used Deep Transit model to better identify those singular dips in years of data across the sky. I work with TESS data, as that is where the majority of current possible exoplanets are being found. I have worked with this team for nearly a year now.
Future Research
I was accepted for an REU program at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Currently, I have been assigned to work under Dr. Benjamin Cassese, and will likely work with data from the James Webb Space telescope to investugate exoplanets and oblateness.
Conferences
I have attended two National Society of Women of Engineers Confernce (Chicago '24 and New Orleans '25). I also have attended the Conference for Undergraduate Women and Gender Minorities in Physics conferences (Boulder '25 and Denver '26). At CU*iP 2026, I also presented a poster, which can be viewed through the bottom of the page.
Volunteer/Observing Experience
I volunteered for upcoming observatory and planeterium Carlton Observatory from May 2022 to August 2024. They are a 501c3 with the goal of fundraising enough to construct a building complex that allows space science to be accessible to an underserved community. I helped with events, outreach, and educational directives in a volunteer capacity. I also shadowed undergraduates researching exoplanets at Pine Mountain Observatory in July 2024, and operated telescopes to display certain astronomical events to the general public.
High School Engineering Projects
My senior year capstone project was finishing a 3-year long project to design a stryofoam shredder for a local company, Recology. We helped weld improved pieces, upgraded quality to make the machine functional to the given specifications. Me and my group worked with budgets, welding, electrical designs, and finishing metalwork. For my junior engineering capstone project, me and my team built an electric guitar with a built-in amplifier from scratch. We designed the ciricitry, and made it customizable to choose between the internal or an external volume output.