About Me
Hi, I'm Michael! I'm a PhD candidate and NSF GRFP fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology working with Professor Michael McDonald. I study the stars, gas, and dust in and around galaxy clusters, the largest gravitationally bound structures in the universe. The gas and dust in these clusters, called the intracluster medium, is rich with interesting physics and many unsolved mysteries, such as the cooling flow problem. My research is observationally oriented and data-driven, and I heavily utilize integral field unit spectroscopy in many different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum to get a detailed picture of the physical processes that govern the dynamics and evolution of galaxy clusters.
Background
I earned my Bachelor's of Science in Physics, with a concentration in Astrophysics, from George Mason University in 2022, summa cum laude. I did research on a few different topics during my undergraduate studies. I worked on the validation of exoplanet candidates with the transit and radial velocity techniques, and the discovery of elusive active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in dwarf galaxies that exhibit high ionization potential "coronal" emission lines. Some common threads between these topics and my current research is the usage of medium resolution spectroscopy, integral field spectroscopy, and coronal emission lines.
Other Interests
Luckily for my advisors, I enjoy coding a lot, so much so that I even do it in my free time sometimes. Here is an example of a fun Python code I made for fun that explores Hydrogen atom orbitals, Fourier series, Legendre Polynomials, and other things.
Some other hobbies of mine include:
- Hiking
- Video Games
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Anime
- Classical music (just listening, not playing)
- Legos and other DIY crafts
