Past: During my senior year of undergrad, I worked with Dr. Horace Smith for my Senior Thesis. The research was on Type I Cepheids in globular cluster M13. I reduced data using DAOPHOT written by Peter Stetson. The data came from MSU's on campus 24 inch observatoryand from data collected at Central Michigan University. What I ended up with were phased light curves for three cepheids (labeled V1, V2, and V6). The ultimate goal of the project is to determine if the periods of Cepheids evolve over a relatively short time (say, a human lifetime).
Present: My current research is on the giant molecular cloud W51. W51 is one of the largest cloud structures known in our galaxy, so there is a lot to learn from this region. The main focus of the project is to identify star forming regions and young stellar objects (YSOs) using GLIMPSE data. YSOs can be identified because they are surrounded by dusty disks and produce excess infrared radtion compared to a star alone. Their infrared colors then enable me to pick out objects that are most likely YSOs. By identifying forming and newly formed stars we can learn a great deal about where star formation occurs, the nature of the parent clouds, and events that may trigger star formation. For this project I am working with Chip Kobulnicky here at UWyo and Charles Kerton at Iowa State, with the help of IDL programs based on those by Brian Uzpen and Dan Kiminki.
