I'm a McWilliams postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. I'm an observational stellar astrophysicist, and I study resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, with a particular focus on massive binary stars.
I completed my PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Maria Drout and Dr. Bryan Gaensler. I completed a BSc. Hons. in Physics and Applied Mathematics at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, supervised by Dr. Ivan Booth and Dr. Hari Kunduri. I'm originally from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Outside of research, I enjoy photography, fiction writing, video games, and cats. Pictured below is Jupiter. From March 2015 to her passing in October 2025, she filled my and my family's heart and home with love and joy.
Work
My research involves identifying and analyzing the parameters of large populations of evolved massive stars in nearby galaxies, such as the Magellanic Clouds. I couple my observations with simulations and models through collaboration with theoretical astrophysicists, and aim to place constraints on uncertain parameters of binary mass transfer processes. I'm also interested in stellar variability and transient behaviour in the late stage evolution of massive stars.
Yellow Supergiants (YSGs) are massive, evolved, intermediate-temperature stars that reside in the region of the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram known as the Hertzsprung Gap. For any binary systems with orbital periods wide enough to not interact on the main sequence, many will interact in the Gap as the primary rapidly expands in radius. YSGs in binary systems therefore represent a critical phase of massive stellar evolution, one where the physics of binary interactions are extremely uncertain. I'm undertaking a systematic study of YSG binaries in the Magellanic Clouds -- by identifying and characterizing these systems, I'm aiming to put observational constraints on mass transfer physics, identify post-mass transfer systems, and connect massive star populations to their eventual fates as supernova.
This work identified hundreds of candidate YSG binary systems using multi-wavelength photometry. Spectroscopic confirmation and population synthesis modeling are ongoing. Check back for future papers!
Betelgeuse's Companion
In August 2024, two independent papers suggested that Betelgeuse's long-period variability could only be explained by the presence of a binary companion - a 'Buddy' about the mass of our Sun, orbiting at 2.5 times the radius of Betelgeuse. I worked with a team of observers and theorists to submit two DDT proposals to the Hubble and Chandra space telescopes, racing to try and detect the companion before it disappeared behind Betelgeuse for another 3 years.
We were able to conclusively rule out a compact object companion, and we placed constraints on the maximum mass of the companion.
Thorne-Żytkow Objects and super-AGB Stars
Thorne-Żytkow Objects (TŻOs) - hypothetical red supergiants with neutron star cores - represent one of the strangest outcomes of binary evolution. During my PhD, I searched for TŻO candidates in the Magellanic Clouds. What I found surprised me -- instead of identifying a population of TŻO candidates, I had instead found the first population of super-AGB star candidates. super-AGB stars are the largest stars that won't explode as core collapse supernovae, sitting on the boundary between intermediate and massive stars.
