I'm a professor researching theoretical astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology. Most of my research focuses on the physics of vibrating fluid spheres. Although this sounds esoteric, the applications within astronomy are nearly limitless! As a graduate student, I studied tidal interactions in merging white dwarf systems, heartbeat stars (oscillating stars in eccentric binary systems), and compact triple star systems. More recently, I have studied magnetic fields inside of red giants, the deep interior of Saturn as revealed by its rings, and the long term evolution evolution of Saturn's moons.

I am currently working on projects involving everything from exoplanets to supergiant stars to black holes. Specific topics include:

The transport of angular momentum inside of stars and the resulting spin rates of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes.
The occurrence and appearance of pre-supernova outbursts in massive stars, and their effect on subsequent supernovae.
The orbital migration of exoplanets tidally interacting with their host stars.
The internal structure of Saturn from ring seismology