Biography
I completed my DPhil in Atmospheric and Planetary Physics from New College, Oxford, in 2021. I then moved to the University of Montreal to be a JWST Fellow for a year. I moved back to Oxford in September 2022 and took up a PDRA in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics sub-department, working alongside Professor Vivien Parmentier. In 2023, I became a Schmidt AI in Science Fellow and as a result, joined Reuben College as an Associate Research Fellow. Currently, I am a Glasstone Fellow in Astrophysics and Supernumerary Fellow at Exeter College, both of these positions started Sept 2024.
I am a trustee for the charity Pride in STEM. I am passionate about advocating for LGBT+ people and the inclusion of LGBT+ people in STEM. Within the Physics department in Oxford, I founded the Oxford Physics LGBT+ Network. This has been running since 2022. Within the Network, I have organised welfare events and seminars. Most recently, we have added a Pride Lecture to our calendar of events, after the success of the Inaugural Lecture in June 2024. I am also on the evaluation panel for the Breakthrough Junior Challenge.
Research
My research focuses on understanding the atmospheres of planets orbiting different stars in our galaxy (known as exoplanets). The first exoplanet discovered around a Sun-like star was in 1995. Currently, we have detected over 5000 of these objects, orbiting a range of different stars. The first atmosphere around an exoplanet was discovered in 2002, and to date we have a catalogue of around 100 atmospheric observations, which includes observations from ground-based and space-based telescopes.
In my work, I have developed theoretical models that can be used to extract information about these atmospheres, namely: what molecules are present and in what quantities, if there are clouds and what they are made of, and what the temperature structure of the planet is like. I have used these models to analyse the cutting edge observations we are obtaining from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), some highlights include measuring the amount of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter WASP-39b, and measuring the amount of water, potassium, and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter WASP-96b. I am a co-PI on a JWST proposal which will study the atmosphere of WASP-96b in more detail. I am a co-I on 10 JWST programs and co-PI on 2, with hopefully more to come, so this will keep me busy throughout my time as a Supernumerary Fellow at Exeter College.
