Hello, and welcome to my home page!
This page is currently under renovation; please
visit again in Fall 2009 for a fuller and more updated website. 
This page is currently under renovation; please
visit again in Fall 2009 for a fuller and more updated website. My research interests are primarily in theoretical cosmology, including studies of the first stars and quasars in the universe, the evolution of cosmic star formation and related observational signatures, the physics and chemistry of gas in the early universe, the cosmic microwave background, and dark matter. I am currently working on the cosmic synthesis of the biogenic elements at early times in the universe (with Dr. Lynn Rothschild, NASA-Ames), and on projects related to helium reionization and its effects on the intergalactic medium (with Prof. Michael Shull, CU-Boulder) and the duration of metal-free star formation (with Dr. Andrew Benson, Caltech).
If you are interested in some light summer reading, check out my CV here.
I joined USF's physics department in Fall 2006 to launch an astronomy and astrophysics program. Through the introduction of several new astronomy and astrophysics courses over the last three years, and the upgrading and expansion of our observing facilities, we now have new two undergraduate minors (astronomy, and astrophysics) starting in Fall 2009. Please check back again later in 2009 for more details on the departmental website. Before moving to the Bay Area, I finished an NSF
Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship , and a
Lectureship position in the Center
for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
I graduated from the
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago in 2000; my
thesis advisor was Prof. Angela
Olinto . Prior to the years in the city of big shoulders, I
received my bachelor's degree from Cornell University's Astronomy
Department .