A) To involve undergraduates in active research,

B) To model complicated orbital systems,

C) To understand how fluid instabilities operate in magnetized astrophysical systems,

D) To evaluate the energetics and temporal behavior of accretion-driven systems,

E) To utilize the PLU campus observatory, and

F) To visualize computer-generated data in novel and powerful ways.

In summer of 2026, I will be co-mentoring four summer research students on observational astronomy projects at PLU's W. M. Keck Observatory.

I also recently published a paper with Dr. Katrina Hay and Mr. Justin deMattos on the horseshoe orbits of Saturn's moons Janus and Epimetheus: https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.13442

Summer 2023: I co-mentored two PLU undergraduates Julian Kop and Jessica Ordaz on observational astronomy projects related to star variability and star clusters.

Summer 2020: I mentored two PLU undergraduates Abby Trenary and Sawyer Veliz on a computational astrophysics project that simulates the disruption of the solar system by interloping objects, such as brown dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes.

Summer 2018: Dr. Katrina Hay and I co-mentored PLU undergraduates Justin deMattos and Megan Longstaff on an observational astronomy project that utilized data taken at PLU's Keck Observatory.  The projects focused on analyzing the motion of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (Megan) and the brightness profile of Saturn's rings (Justin). 

Summer 2016: Dr. Hay and I co-mentored PLU undergraduate Kimberly Belmes on an observational astronomy project that looked for correlations between sunspot area and decay/growth rates and estimating sunspot-to-photosphere temperature ratios.

Much of my research prior to arriving at PLU focused on the simulation and analysis of astrophysical fluid flows.  I was particularly focused on systems powered by black hole accretion, including relativistic jets and accretion disks.