Interesting Stuff
I am an astrostatistian working on a range of problems having to do with classification and non-parametric comparisons of astronomical objects. Formally, I am a member of the DES collaboration, although the methods that I have developed have found applications in other fields.
Along these lines, I'm working on a supernova classification package called pSNid, which is an extension of Masao Sako's pSNid, described here, that uses a variety of statistical methods to identify and classify supernovae photometrically. I'm also working with Marisa March, currently a postdoc at the University of Sussex, on an extension of pSNid to fit cosmology at the light curve level.
I also dabble in IR astronomy, specifically the statistical study of ULIRG spectra. Papers on the subject can be found here and here. I'm currently a co-I on the Hershel ULIRG Reference Survey (HERUS) PI-ed by Duncan Farrah.
Also,
the Galaxy Zoo 2 team has allowed me to dabble with some of their data.
Worked with a Hamilton College undergraduate, Patrick Barnes on
understanding the relation between spirals and the bulge size using
network diagrams. His write-up can be found here. I've also
written a simple program
to calculate the probability that, within statistical uncertainties,
volunteers are voting the same way for two galaxies. The tar-ball
not only contains the program, but a README file that describes what
the program does, how to compile it and how to run it.
Outreach
As a graduate student and later a postdoc at Columbia, I participated in a variety of outread. While a postdoc at Columbia I and my colleagues wrote a brochure on cosmic rays called Cosmic Extremes. More recently, I have been using undergraduates at Hamilton College to explore astrostatical techniques to sub-type Ia supernovae and analyze Galaxy Zoo data.
Interesting
People
Interesting Places