Teaching

Mentoring Students @ Harvard and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

My goal in mentoring is to support the development of students' career paths. I enjoy to offer research projects that both develop specific technical skills and set students on a broad path of research that will remain fruitful for many years. Througout my postdoc at Harvard, I have (co-)advised the following students:

• Minjung Park, graduate student at Harvard

• Leah Zuckerman, undergraduate student at Brown University (REU)

• Diana Khimey, undergraduate student at Harvard (PRISE Fellowship, publication)

• Rohan Naidu, graduate student at Harvard (publication)

• Xiaohan Wu, graduate student at Harvard (publication)

• Kartheik Iyer, graduate student at Rutgers during the Kavli Summer School 2018 (publication)

• Peyton Benac, Junior Thesis in 2019 at Harvard

• Ana Georgescu, Junior Thesis in 2018 at Harvard

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Latino Initiative Program (SAO/LIP)

In the summer of 2020, I was a mentor for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Latino Initiative Program (SAO/LIP), which targets talented undergraduate science majors who participate in the Urban Massachusetts Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Programs located on the campuses of the University of Massachusetts. The students have the opportunity to work on a summer research project at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. My student (Alberto Chavez) studied the variability of star formation in simulated galaxies. I strongly support this and similar programs because it provides scientific research for minority students and thereby helps building a more inclusive environment.

Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP)

In the academic year of 2018/19, I was also a mentor for the Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP), which provides an opportunity for high-school juniors and seniors to work on a year-long independent research project in astrophysics under the guidance of an astrophysicist. My two students from a local public high school successfully implemented a simple galaxy growth model and presented their work at a professional seminar. I strongly support this and similar programs because it exposes high-school students to authentic research experiences and therefore encourages them to major in STEM fields in colleges. It also helps students to transition into colleges and to be independent learners and thinkers.