Email: michael.poon (at) astro.utoronto.ca
Hi there! I am a final-year PhD candidate in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, advised with Prof. Marta Bryan and Prof. Hanno Rein.
My research centers on exoplanetary obliquity – the tilt between a planet's rotational and orbital axes – which is a newly observable signature of planetary formation and dynamics. I approach this emerging field from three complementary angles:
Observational (combining high-resolution spectroscopy, direct imaging and space-based photometry to obtain new obliquity measurements)
Theoretical (exploring the origins of planetary tilts through collisions, spin-orbit resonances, moons, gravitational instability, etc)
Statistical (developing hierarchical Bayesian models to infer population-level constraints in obliquity).
I will be applying for postdoctoral positions in Fall 2025 and happy to chat about potential opportunities or collaborations.