University of Arizona
Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy & Astrophysics
August 2026 - Present
Advisor: Dr. Brenda Frye
University of California, Santa Cruz
Bachelor of Science in Physics (Astrophysics)
September 2022 - June 2026
GPA: 3.95
Magna Cum Laude
Highest Honors in the Major
Is there a difference between strong and weak lensing? - In Preparation, 2026 - Nix, Holden | Leauthaud, Alexie | Zhou, Conghao | Heydenreich, Sven | Shajib, Anowar | Tan, Chin Yi | Birrer, Simon | Sheu, William
Breaking the mass-sheet degeneracy in strong lensing mass modelling with weak lensing observations - 2024 - Khadka, Narayan | Birrer, Simon | Leauthaud, Alexie | Nix, Holden
American Astronomical Society Chambliss Award - Honorable Mention (January 2026)
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship - Honorable Mention (April 2026)
UC Santa Cruz Dean’s Undergraduate Research Award (April 2026)
Awarded to the top 10 undergraduate research projects in each academic division (50 recipients total)
A sub-kpc-scale analysis of two dusty star-forming galaxies at cosmic noon
Building an improved lens model of the PLCK G165.7+67.0 Cluster
Comparing strong lens mass models with a photometry-matched sample of weak lensing measurements (Undergrad Research Project with Alexie Leauthad, to be published in 2026)
Searching for strong gravitational lenses with two background sources (2025 Summer Project with Adam Bolton)
Investigating the effects of tidal stripping on dark matter halos using IllustrisTNG simulations (2023 Summer Project)
Quality flags for spectroscopic redshift data from DESI for the Merian Group (2023 Summer Project)
Using hydrodynamic and dark matter-only simulations to compare self-interacting dark matter and cold dark matter (Early undergrad project with Joseph Wick)
Jan 2025 - Present | Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey
May 21, 2025 - Santa Cruz Organization for Outreach in Physics No-Jargon Talk
January 7, 2026 - American Astronomical Society Poster Presentation
January 21, 2026 - Santa Cruz Organization for Outreach in Physics No-Jargon Talk
2 nights (1 effective night) - Advanced Astronomy Lab, 40-inch Nickel Telescope at Lick Observatory
1 night - Advanced Astronomy Lab, 3m Shane Telescope at Lick Observatory
Absorption of Gamma Radiation By Lead (May 7, 2024; Intermediate Physics Lab)
Low Frequency Impedence of AC Circuits (May 28, 2024; Intermediate Physics Lab)
Photometry of a Type II Cepheid Star (May 1, 2025; Advanced Astronomy Lab)
Photometry, Age, and Metallicity of Star Clusters (May 24, 2025; Advanced Astronomy Lab)
Rotation Curve of UGC 9780 Using Hα Spectroscopy (June 13, 2025; Advanced Astronomy Lab)