About Me

I obtained my Astronomy Ph.D. at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. I worked with Professor Frank van den Bosch on empirically modelling the galaxy-halo connection in large-scale structure surveys. In particular, I am interested in the kinematics of satellite galaxies, galaxy clustering, galaxy-galaxy lensing and galaxy assembly bias. Additionally, I’m an active contributor to the open-source halotools project. The following broad questions drive my research.

  • Can the Lamda-CDM cosmological model describe both the results from galaxy surveys as well as observations of the cosmic microwave background?
  • Are the dynamics of galaxies consistent with predictions from general relativity?
  • What is the relationship between galaxies and dark matter halos? Do current models of galaxy formation correctly predict this relation?
  • What are ideal methods to extract information from galaxy surveys in an unbiased and maximally informative way?

Before coming to Yale, I completed my bachelor’s degree at the Free University of Berlin. Afterwards, I obtained a master’s degree from the University of Heidelberg. I also participated in a half-year exchange program at University of California, Santa Barbara and a one-year exchange program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. From January to June 2017 I was a Graduate Fellow at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) in Santa Barbara.