I am currently the ELT Post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan Astronomy Depatment. I study exoplanet formation and evolution, particularly in binary star systems, through direct imaging and high-contrast imaging ground-based observations. I'm a part of the MagAO-X team, the extreme adaptive optics instrument on the Magellan Clay telescope in Chile. I have also worked with Keck/NIRC2 images, and with unresolved companions in stellar binaries in Gaia.

Brooke is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Michigan, where she searches for transiting exosatellites in JWST lightcurves of substellar worlds. As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she investigated lithium enrichment in stars as evidence of planetary engulfment and contributed to solar flare detection algorithms. In addition to her research, she works as a planetarium operator at the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.

Max is a first year Astronomy PhD student and Rackham Merit Fellow at U of M. They are interested in studying exoplanets around white dwarf stars, such as using JWST data to look for thermal variability of WD 1856 b. Outside of research, they enjoy being involved in teaching and outreach.

Sam is a fifth year undergraduate here at U of M triple majoring in Astronomy and Astrophysics and Chemistry, Interdisciplinary Physics. His research revolves around exploring the detectability of exomoons and exorings with JWST and the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). Specifically, he focuses on the detectability of icy moons and rings, as well as Earth-like moons. Outside of research, Sam also works for U of M’s Detroit Observatory, where he is involved in public outreach and program development for astronomy and historical astronomy.

My name is Andrew Householder, I am a fourth-year undergraduate here at U of M, majoring in astronomy and astrophysics with a double major in interdisciplinary physics. I am an active member of the Student Astronomical Society, acting as the observatory operator for open-house nights at the Angell Hall Observatory here on campus. My research is dedicated to the detection of sub-Io sized transiting exosatellites around sub-stellar systems using the JWST. Specifically, I repurpose MIRI LRS variability data taken of the brown dwarf binary system WISE-1049AB both to search for true transit signals, and to constrain the false-positive rate using injection/recovery testing. We plan to demonstrate that JWST is capable of detecting such objects, and in the future, apply our methods to an expanded search for exosatellites.

Alisha Vasan is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Michigan. She plans to pursue a dual degree in Physics and Astronomy/Astrophysics. In high school, she conducted research on dark matter recognition and gravitational lensing in galaxy clusters. Currently, she is working with Dr. Mary Anne Limbach on research focusing on flux deficits and the persistence of white dwarfs using data from the JWST. Outside of academics, she enjoys playing musical instruments, exploring Ann Arbor, and painting.

Nishanth Ramanujam is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Michigan double majoring in Astronomy & Astrophysics and Interdisciplinary Physics with a focus in Chemical Physics, and minoring in Data Science. Currently, he has been researching young star-forming regions with high exosatellite transit yields around brown dwarfs in the hopes of characterizing the atmospheric variability of these brown dwarfs and detecting exosatellite transits using the Wide Field Instrument on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Mikayla Wilson is a fourth year Astronomy and Astrophysics PhD student at the University of California Santa Cruz. Her work focuses on exomoon detection around free-floating planetary mass objects with JWST.