October 23, 2023
I work on applications of computational Bayesian inference in gravitational-wave astronomy. Collisions of black holes and neutron stars in the distant universe emit more energy in their final moments than all of the stars in the Universe. This energy is carried away as gravitational radiation, stretching and squeezing spacetime as they travel. After the first observation by advanced LIGO in 2015, these waves are now routinely observed. I am interested in developing statistical methods, computational techniques, and theoretical models that enable us to use these observations to learn about the astrophysics of massive stars and the nature of relativity. I am a member of the LIGO scientific collaboration in which I am a co-chair of the "Parameter Estimation" working group that is responsible for extracting the source parameters describing the observed gravitational-wave signals. Additionally, I am committed to developing open-source software tools for astrophysics.