Hi, I’m Helena! I’m a fifth year graduate student in the University of Pittsburgh’s Physics PhD program. I’m working with Evan Schneider on using high resolution hydrodynamics simulations to study the co-evolution of dust and galaxies. My work has focused on understanding the evolution of dusty clouds in galactic winds, motivated by observations of dust in galactic outflows and the circumgalactic medium (such as Bolatto et al. 2024 and Menard et al. 2010). To make these simulations, I’m using the Cholla hydrodynamics code, a GPU-based code that can simulate entire galaxies with a fixed resolution of less than a few parsecs. I’ve added a simple model of dust sputtering to Cholla, and plan to expand this model to create simulations of full galaxies with dust.
During my time as an undergrad at Pitt, I led a group called STEPUP that uses instruments at Pitt’s Allegheny Observatory to detect exoplanets via transit photometry. I wrote a photometry pipline for STEPUP to anaylze its data that is publically available at the STEPUP Image Analysis GitHub.
Outside of work, I like to spend my time cooking, exercizing (biking, climbing, skiing, running, yoga, etc.), hanging out with my friends (Animal Crossing villagers), and staring longingly into the sound of Ocracoke island (pictured above).
Outreach
I believe that outreach is an important part of opening physics up to marginalized groups that are all too often deterred by the exclusionary attitudes that exist in this field. Without the suport I received from caring mentors as an aspiring astronomer, I would not have made the decision to pursue astrophysics, so providing that support for others is important to me. To connect with students who may be interested in pursuing physics, I regularly participate in programs like Adopt-a-Physicist, and other local outreach programs hosted by Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University, and local high schools. I’m also always happy to provide personal mentorship to students who just need someone to answer their questions or affirm their experiences. Please feel free to contact me with questions or outreach opportunities!
Education
B.S., Physics & Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh (2020)
B.S., Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh (2020)
Ph.D., Physics, University of Pittsburgh (ongoing)