I am interested in the properties of low-mass stars, and specifically in observationally exploring the relationship between age, rotation, and magnetic activity.
Every LSSTC Catalyst Fellow puts together a mentoring committee that includes an Expansion Mentor. The intent for these mentors is that they expand the perspective of Catalyst Fellows, preparing them for effective leadership within a diverse and evolving astrophysics community that conducts research in a wide variety of environments. Thus, most of the candidate Expansion Mentors listed below do research at small institutions (which could be predominantly undergraduate or teaching-focused), within small astrophysics groups, or at historically minority-serving institutions. Some candidate Expansion Mentors from larger institutions have particular experiences relevant to understanding and navigating diversity in the Rubin science community.
 Marcel AguerosHe/Him I am interested in the properties of low-mass stars, and specifically in observationally exploring the relationship between age, rotation, and magnetic activity. |
 John BochanskiHe/Him I am an Associate Professor of Computer Science & Physics and Chair of Rider University‘s Department of Computer Science & Physics. I specialize in using large surveys, like SDSS, Gaia, and WISE to study the formation and evolution of the Galaxy. I’m excited about the future of surveys with WFIRST and the Vera Rubin Observatory. |
 Dario CarboneHe/Him My main research interests lie in time domain astronomy, and in particular in the characterization of the transient rate of high energy transient sources. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory promise to bear transformational results in this area, and that is my main interest in such project. |
 Sarah Dodson-RobinsonMy LSST-related science interest is in identifying and modeling periodic signals. My group is adapting optimal power spectrum and cross-spectrum estimation tools from the statistics literature for use on astronomical data. The Welch's power spectrum estimator, which we introduced for astronomical use in Dodson-Robinson et al. |
 Louise EdwardsShe/Her I am interested in galaxy evolution in different environments. In particular, questions about brightest cluster galaxies and their relationship to the intra-cluster light, nearby companions, and intra-cluster medium and large-scale strucutre drive much of my research. I approach the topic as an observational astronomer, having built programs with instruments like SITELLE, on CFHT, SparsePak on WIYN, and by mining X-ray, optical, near-IR, and radio databases. |
 Kevin FlahertyHe/Him Young stellar objects are intrinsically dynamic objects, and I am interested in the complex velocity fields surrounding these objects, as well as how they change with time. Young stellar objects are highly variable on all timescales, and much of this variability can be related to accretion onto the star, whether it is the long-term outbursts associated with FUor/EXor type events, or the smaller variations seen on shorter timescales. I am interested in population-level questions: How frequently do YSOs experience large outbursts? |
 Jarita HolbrookThey/Them/Theirs My career path is unusual in that after completing my doctorate in astrophysics (UC Santa Cruz), I used postdoc fellowships strategically to transition into science & technology studies (STS). Since then, I have held academic positions in applied anthropology (U Arizona), women & gender studies (UCLA), physics (U Western Cape) and now back in STS (U Edinburgh). I actively mentor graduate students and postdocs in astrophysics, because we cannot change the demographics if we do not retain our talent. |
 Benne HolwerdaThe combination of an LSST deep drilling field on the Chandra Deep Field South and HI observations in this field by the MeerKAT radio telescope opens up the possibility for synergy science using information from both: evolution in the Tully-Fischer relation, gas supply and galaxy properties etc etc. I am part of the galaxies SC and liasion between HI and LSST science. |
 Andrea KunderShe/Her There is no doubt that the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will be a major player in the future of astronomy, a foundation and launching point for studying the structure and evolution of the universe and the objects in it. I am interested in any aspect of LSST pertaining to stellar populations. I realize that being familiar of the possibilities and capabilities of LSST will be necessary to be at the forefront of my research field, and am eager to get experience in scientific endeavors to learn more about maximizing LSST photometry. My research focuses mainly on old stellar populat |
 Michael LamHe/Him I am a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology working with the NANOGrav Collaboration. My main work revolves around noise analyses for the millisecond pulsars in the NANOGrav pulsar timing array. Our goal is the detection and characterization of nanohertz-frequency gravitational waves from the stochastic gravitational wave background and from individual sources, primarily supermassive black hole binaries. |
 Britt LundgrenShe/Her I am interested in using LSST to identify new lensed and variability-selected quasar populations for spectroscopic follow-up, with the goal of enabling improved backlighting studies of the circumgalactic medium of galaxies and the intergalactic medium. I am also interested in developing Jupyter notebooks that make authentic explorations of LSST data accessible to high school and college students. |
 Christene LynchShe/Her My research focuses on understanding magnetism in stars and planets using multi-wavelength observations. As part of this research, I used state-of-the-art telescopes to developed emission models that apply to the broader population of magnetic stars. I also demonstrated the great utility of polarised imaging in the radio for detecting faint transient emissions. This work resulted in the first detection of stellar emission using modern MHz-frequency interferometers. |
 Karen L. MastersI am an astronomer interested in galaxy evolution probed through surveys. I am particularly interested in galaxies where you can see structure, and/or probing the kinematics of galaxies or using them to test cosmological models in various ways. I have worked with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (as the Spokesperson of SDSS-IV) so I am used to working in very large collaborations. |
 Jorge G. Moreno SotoHe/Him My science program aims to study dwarf galaxies and their interaction with their environment, focused on predictions and comparisons with ongoing and upcoming observational campaigns, including Rubin LSST. I use zooms with the FIRE physics model (`Feedback In Realistic Environments’) and FIREbox, a state-of-the-art cosmological simulation employing this model. I am interested in the environmental processes shaping low-mass galaxies, including ram-pressure stripping, quenching, morphological transformation and tidal disruption. |
 Jesus PandoHe/Him My work focuses on using large scale structure as a probe to make some basic cosmological measurements. These include analyzing n-point correlation functions to more accurately measure BAOs, mapping the large scale structure to characterize the early universe fluctuations and the distribution of dark matter, and using large scale structure formation to probe homogeneity, isotropy, and primordial non-Gaussianity. The information inherent in these measurements can be effectively unpacked by using wavelet analysis that has been developed over the last two and half decades. |
 Gordon RichardsMy interest in Rubin and specifically AGNs in Rubin is two-fold: understanding the physics of accretion onto supermassive black holes and using those systems as cosmological probes. My group considers the multi-wavelength nature of AGN physics with active work in the X-ray, UV, optical, IR, and radio, with emphasis on understanding how these energy regions are related. We also have been working on calibrating quasars as cosmological standard candles. For LSST, these areas require finding AGNs in the first place (with both high completeness and high efficiency, also both unobscured and ob |
 Kim-Vy TranShe/Her I study how galaxies assemble over cosmic time by capitalizing on the high resolution, extreme sensitivity, and broad wavelength coverage of ground and space-based telescopes. My “super-power” is leading and managing international research teams. My experience includes the ZFOURGE, ZFIRE, and MOSEL surveys that provide benchmark measurements of galaxy scaling relations. |
 Matt WiesnerHe/Him I have been involved with LSST since I joined the Dark Energy Science Collaboration as a postdoc at Purdue in 2015. I have been involved with several projects in the DESC, including tests of image simulator PhoSim in preparation for DESC Data Challenge 1 and efforts to include lensed host galaxies of quasars and supernovae in Data Challenge 2. I am now working on a project to test how well simulated kilonovae can be found by injecting them into DC2 images. I am also involved with the Strong Lensing Science Collaboration and am a member of the Solar System Science Collaboration. |
