Research
Undergraduate
I graduated from Caltech in June 2003 with a physics degree and a focus in astrophysics. I have always been fascinated by the nature and the history of the universe. I have worked on various research projects searching for Thorne-Zytkow objects, modeling dark matter in dwarf galaxies, and analyzing gas envelopes of planetary nebulae.
Master
My master degree research looked at our more recent history (past 20 - 30 000 years)
here on Earth. In particular the North Atlantic circulation and its effects on global climate. The
meridional overturning circulation in the Atlantic Ocean consists of surface water flowing northward
along the western ocean boundary, sinking at high latitudes due to its high density, then flowing
southward at depths of 2000-3000 meters. This circulation is important to global climate due to its
northward heat transport from low to high latitudes in the North Atlantic.
There is evidence that, during the last ice age, which peaked around 21,000 years ago, this circulation
was considerably different. Here is a comprehensive overview:
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation During the Last Glacial Maximum
PhD
My PhD research looks at Titan's atmosphere, where the Huygens probe detected an interesting electromagnetic signal throughout its atmospheric descent. This signal is the equivalent of Schumann resonance waves, generated by lightning on Earth. The observation of such waves on Titan raises the question of their source, since lightning has not been detected and the satellite's surface is highly non-conductive.