Academic. Researcher. Explorer.

Exploring the Solar Wind to Understand Our Place in the Cosmos

I'm a Research Astrophysicist based in Greenbelt, MD, where I study how the Sun drives the solar wind and shapes the space environment of our solar system. I earned my PhD in Applied Physics from the University of Michigan, where I focused on how Coulomb collisions and kinetic processes influence the solar wind. After a postdoc at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, where I was later promoted to Research Scientist, I joined NASA as a civil servant to continue my work in heliophysics.

As a heliophysicist with cross-cutting expertise, I work across both the thermal and suprathermal regimes. My research utilizes multiple spacecraft, including Wind, ACE, Parker Solar Probe, and Solar Orbiter and the processes I study span timescales ranging from seconds to decades. I’m especially interested in how the composition and structure of the solar wind reflect both its solar source and the processes it undergoes during interplanetary travel. Recent work on helium abundance and heavy ion composition has sparked deeper investigations into solar cycle variability and space weather forecasting.

At the heart of my work is a deep curiosity about our Sun, humanity’s place in the Universe, and how solar variability affects life on Earth. As a Fellow of The Explorers Club and an active member of the heliophysics community, I bring energy, creativity, and a systems-level perspective to every project I take on.