Allyson Brodzeller

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Physics Division at Berkeley National Lab in California. My research interests include Lyman-alpha forest cosmology, quasar evolution and its influence on host galaxy environments, and maximizing the scientific return of major astronomical surveys. Much of my work has focused on quasar spectral modeling with applications in diversity studies, DLA surveys, and automated classification. In particular, I led an effort during my Ph.D. to create an updated quasar model that is helping the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) fill in the high redshift end of the MOST DETAILED map of the observable universe ever constructed! In addition to this, I am also heavily involved in the measurement of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of the Lyman-alpha forest with DESI. See the most recent results from DESI here.

Selected Publications

A. Brodzeller, M. Wolfson, D. M. Santos, et al. 2025 "Construction of the Damped Lyman-alpha Absorber Catalog for DESI DR2 Lya BAO", submitted to PRD

The DLA Toolkit code is scheduled for public release later in 2025
The DR1 DLA catalog from the DLA Toolkit is available at this link

A. Brodzeller, K. Dawson, S. Bailey et al. 2023 "Quasar Spectral Templates and Classification in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Survey" Astronomical Journal, 166:66

quasar models available on DESI github
SDSS redshift catalog used to derive models available on my github

A. Brodzeller and K. Dawson, 2022 "Modeling the Spectral Diversity of Quasars in the Sixteenth Data Release from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey" Astronomical Journal, 163:110

quasar model and library of composite spectra available on github

Total publications = 29; A full list can be found in my ADS Library

Outreach

I am passionate about public education and outreach! I believe science should be accessible to everyone, regardless of an individual's starting point or prior knowledge. Over the past years, I have been active in several programs that work to communicate scientific discoveries and endeavors to the general public. Some of these activities are highlighted below, and a full list of my outreach activities can be viewed in my CV.

Astronomy on Tap SLC

I am a founding co-organizer and host for Astronomy on Tap in Salt Lake City. AoTSLC is a series of public-level talks by scientists and space enthusiasts alike on a variety of topics in astronomy! Events are hosted at local bars and breweries. Though I am no longer in Salt Lake, I am happy to say AoTSLC has continued on!

Find info for upcoming events:

Instagram: @AoTSaltLakeCity

https://astronomyontap.org/

NHMU Fellow

From 2023 to 2024, I was a science communication fellow with the Natural History Museum of Utah. Now, you might catch me using my skills from this SciCom experience to spread excitement for astronomy at venues local to the Bay Area.

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