NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellows

I conduct an integrated program of cosmology research and education, primarily at the University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder, and also in collaboration with scientists from a number of institutions in the US, Italy and Japan. My research projects with the NSF AAPF focus on theoretical studies of the nature, birth epochs and formation sites of the first stars in the universe, and the effects that these stars have on the gas in their host galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM); see my web page for more detail. I am also involved with ongoing work at CU, Boulder to constrain the observational aspects of such theories in the local IGM with current and future ground-based and satellite observations.

My education/outreach program with the NSF AAPF targets the education and recruitment of underrepresented groups in astronomy and physics, such as Native Americans and women. This is directed principally through the University of Colorado Upward Bound programs (CUUB) in Boulder. CUUB targets Native American high school students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, typically from schools which are on or near major reservations across the nation. Most of the students are potential first-generation college students in their families, and in addition happen to be mostly female. I also conduct a number of other teaching/outreach programs, and participate in established EPO efforts at CU, Boulder and at the Science Integration Institute in Portland, Oregon.