Post-Docs

I am an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow and DiRAC Fellow. I am conducting a search for the first planets transiting white dwarf stars in data from the Zwicky Transient Facility, while also mentoring undergraduates in astronomical research. My previous work has focused on white dwarf asteroseismology, and I am an active collaborator in variable star research using Kepler and TESS data.

Kim Bott’s research centres around planetary atmospheres and polarimetry, combining instrumentation, observation, and computer models.  Her work at UW is focused on determining the usefulness of polarimetry in exoplanet characterisation, and also on the habitability of terrestrial worlds orbiting M dwarfs.  Her previous work involved applications of polarimetry to debris disks, stars and the ISM; combining polarimetry with transit and secondary eclipse data for hot Jupiters; and the measurement of isotopes in the atmospheres of ice giants.

My research focuses on how galaxies shut down star formation and transition from actively star forming to quiescent. This work leverages deep multi-wavelength photometric surveys, large spectroscopic surveys, and cosmological simulations in order to constrain the mechanisms potentially responsible for shutting down star formation in galaxies.

Sarah is a joint postdoc with the B612 Asteroid Institute and the DIRAC Center. Her research interests are in orbital dynamics of small bodies in the Solar System, including resonant dynamics, near-Earth asteroids on retrograde orbits, impact and crater formation rates, asteroid-Earth impact probabilities and hazard mitigation, and asteroid observations.

I am interested in developing data analysis techniques using the latest advances in statistical inference in order to leverage complex astronomical data. I work on probabilistic cataloging, a novel Bayesian technique that is able to handle extremely crowded stellar fields. The method is able to handle deblending ambiguities by treating the number of sources itself as a parameter to be inferred, using trans-dimensional Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling.

My research focuses on star formation in nearby galaxies and its interplay with molecular gas. I’m very interested in the research of new techniques to calibrate star formation and in developing more accurate models of photodissociation in GMCs. I’m also an active member of MaNGA and spend a fair amount of my time developing software for SDSS.

I study planetary atmospheres, habitability, biosignatures, and the emergence of life. I host a podcast called Strange New Worlds, which examines science, technology, and culture through the lens of Star Trek.