I’m a graduate student writer for Astrobites, a collaboration of graduate students that takes scientific articles and condenses them down into bite-size pieces that the public can understand (our target audience being undergraduates). I’ve been writing for Astrobites since January 2023 and am also an active member of the Climate Change and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committees. You can find my Astrobite articles here!
I’m a member of the MIT Sidewalk Astrogazers organization and am currently co-leading the organization in 2023. Our group has 5 telescopes, include 3 dobsonians, 1 solar (H$\alpha$), and 1 Unistellar eVscope that we bring to the sidewalks of Cambridge and Boston to show the public! We also partner with local organizations, like the MIT Museum, to host specific events with stargazing. Check out our website for more details!
I’m a member of the organizing committee for Boston’s chapter of Astronomy on Tap, which features events at local bars, breweries, and coffee shops where astronomy experts give public talks, followed by space-themed trivia. I’ve helped host events since our chapter started up again in 2022. Check out our event listings or keep an eye on our social media if you’re interested in joining for one of our events!
I’m an active member of the Grads Advising Graduate Admissions (GAGA) group in the MIT Department of Physics, whose role is to provide the grad student perspective and advice on the admissions process. As part of GAGA, I help run the Physics Graduate Application Assistance (PhysGAAP) program, which aims to provide additional information and help to prospective applications to the MIT Physics PhD program. This program consists of yearly webinars, held in the fall and the recordings posted to our website, and a 1-on-1 mentorship program for students to get individualized help on their application. The motivation behind this program was to reduce the barriers for application to the MIT Physics PhD program and address the underrepresentation of students from historically excluded communities. You can read more about this initiative on the MIT Physics website or in this Astrobite.
During the summers of 2017 and 2019, I was a public outreach volunteer in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. While there, I developed and regularly ran a “cart program”, where I would teach museum guests about dark matter using visual aids and 3D printed, hands-on tools. I also ran weekly solar observing sessions and supervised a local high school student in the development of another cart program and solar observing.