Current Group Members

Rebecca Zhang

Graduate Student

Rebecca's research focuses on characterizing the instrumental polarization of SCExAO VAMPIRES and developing new polarimetry techniques for exoplanet characterization.

Connor Vancil

Graduate Student

Connor's research is broadly focused on investigating exoplanets, brown dwarfs, and their atmospheres. More specifically, he thinks about how high resolution spectroscopy and polarimetry can be leveraged for atmospheric characterization.

Skyler Palatnick

Graduate Student

Skyler's research focuses on high-contrast imaging and polarimetry for exoplanet detection and characterization.

Ronald Lopez

Ronald Lopez

NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow

Ronald is interested in astronomical instrumentation and the discovery and characterization of directly imaged exoplanets. He is currently working on the commissioning plan for the updated polarimetry mode on the upcoming GPI 2.0 instrument and developing an MKID high-resolution multi-object spectrograph testbed for exoplanet characterization. He is also passionate about taking steps towards a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment in physics and astronomy.

Briley Lewis

Briley Lewis

NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow

Briley is interested in high-contrast + polarimetric instrumentation/data processing and observations of debris disks. She is currently working on commissioning the NIRC2 polarimetry mode and completing a uniform analysis of the Gemini Planet Imager debris disk sample using GPU-enabled modeling. She is also passionate about teaching, science writing, and accessibility in astronomy.

Group Alumni

Jack Grossman

Jack Grossman

Former Undergraduate Student

Jack worked on high-contrast imaging techniques and data analysis.

Current: Graduate Student at [Institution]

William Chang

William Chang

Former Undergraduate Student

William's research focused on polarimetry and instrumentation development.

Current: Software Engineer at [Company]

Ivan Abreu

Ivan Abreu

Former Undergraduate Student

Ivan worked on exoplanet detection and characterization.

Current: Research Assistant at [Institution]

Kyle Lam

Kyle Lam

Former Undergraduate Student

Kyle's research focused on brown dwarf atmospheres and polarimetry.

Current: Graduate Student at [Institution]

Sofia Hillman

Sofia Hillman

Undergraduate Student

Sofia is working on characterizing optics for a new polarimetry mode at the Keck II telescope.

Current:

Will Melby

Will Melby

Undergraduate Student

Will is a physics undergraduate interested in exoplanets and instrumentation. His research focuses on characterizing optics for a new polarimetry mode at the Keck II telescope.

Current:

Maya (Ye) Ma

Maya (Ye) Ma

Undergraduate Student

Maya is a sophomore physics and computer science dual major. She is currently working on developing metasurface for direct imaging, focusing on fabrication at the UCSB Nanofab and optimizing the design of metasurface.

Current:

Yunxuan (Lucy) Jiang

Yunxuan (Lucy) Jiang

Undergraduate Student

Yunxuan is a senior data science major. Her work is dedicated to the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) data pipeline extraction, with a special focus on optimizing the efficiency and accuracy of ePSF model extraction. She is interested in data modeling and optimization within the realms of astronomy and finance.

Current: