My research interests are multidisciplinary. I completed my Ph.D. in experimental astrophysics at U.C. Berkeley in 2005. For this work, I co-discovered calorimetric aerogels and developed physical models of the energy-loss and impact crater formation that result from the capture of hypervelocity particles in ultra-low density solids. A copy of my thesis can be dowloaded here.

Aerogels were recently used by NASA's Stardust Mission, and I participated in the analysis of samples from this mission (See Publications). I continue to make progress in increasing our understanding of the capture process in aerogels (See Publications).

Currently, I am an Associate Project Scientist in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at U.C. San Diego. I am working on a variety of research topics in Physics, Astrophysics, Atmospheric Chemistry, and Planetary Science including:

• physics of capture of cometary, interplanetary, and interstellar dust grains in aerogels

• atmospheric chemistry and the use of triple-oxygen isotopic compositions to understand sources and transformations of chemical compounds in Planetary Atmospheres

• origins and applications of mass-independent isotopic anomalies in natural systems

• Use of stable and radioactive isotope tracers in geochemical systems

• Development of fundamental models of isotopic fractionation in atmospheric and geochemical systems

I am also a Co-I (Science PI) on a NASA funded project to develop infrared nanoscopy for the analysis of natural samples such as primitive meteorites, cometary, interplanetary, and interstellar dust grains in the laboratory. Our first results are very exciting and should be coming out in the coming months!