Research
I study transiting M dwarf exoplanets and stellar activity as a member of
Zach Berta-Thompson's
CU Boulder Exoplaneteers (CUBE) research group. My work has included ground-based discovery and
characterization of transiting exoplanets, stellar characterization, space-based spectroscopy of
exoplanet atmospheres, and the study of starspots and their contaminating effects on exoplanet
transmission spectra.
Following the launch of TESS, I led a ground-based followup campaign using the Las Cumbres Observatory global network to confirm or rule out planet candidates. The first transit I observed was of ultra-short period M dwarf exoplanet LHS 3844b (Vanderspek+ 2019), which became the first published rocky exoplanet found by TESS.
My observations have led or contributed to several other discoveries of M dwarf exoplanets like the nearby Earth-sized planet LP 791-18 d (Peterson+ 2023) and the earlier discovery of planets LP 791-18 b and c (Crossfield+ 2019), the TOI 2096 system (Pozuelos+ 2023), and the sub-Neptunes TOIs 122b and 237b (Waalkes+ 2021). Each of these worlds is a viable candidate for atmospheric characterization with current or near-future observational instruments.
Exoplanet atmospheres are difficult to detect and characterize, and one way to search for them is by looking for atmospheric outflow of hydrogen from sub-Neptune exoplanets that orbit close to active host stars. I looked for evidence of neutral hydrogen outflow from rocky exoplanet GJ 1132b (Berta+ 2013).