Meet the DAWN-IRES Scholars: Lauren Elicker

Tell me a little about yourself.

I am a rising senior physics and astrophysics major at the University of Cincinnati, where I moved for college. I'm originally from Akron, Ohio. I really enjoy Northeast Ohio where Akron is, but it's very different from the rest of Ohio and Cincinnati where I go to school. I like the seasons in Ohio, and I like that there is access to a lot of city things in Northeast Ohio. For fun I enjoy hiking -- I've really enjoyed hiking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park and I visited Shenandoah in Virginia which was beautiful.

How did you get interested in astronomy?

Later in high school I started reading non-fiction astronomy books geared towards the public and those were really interesting. When I think about space it kind of makes my head spin because there is so much we really don't know. I just always wanted to learn more about that.

What is your favorite part about Copenhagen?  DAWN?

I like how easy it is to walk or bike around. It's really nice for an independent traveler; you don't need to have a car. I got covid so I had to isolate for a while, which I didn't like so much... I've liked walking near the lakes in the city center, and going to Reffen. I've also enjoyed going to Tivoli and just walking around. We actually watched fireworks with the queen there! We are hoping to go to the Glyptotek and the zoo.

I really like the small community feeling of DAWN and the space that it is in. After just a few weeks, most people seem familiar and friendly. I also really enjoy that there are grad students in the DAWN-IRES program; they are great resources for astronomy and professional development questions.

What motivated you to apply to an international REU?

I applied to as many REUs as I could, but this one stood out because I'd never been to Europe. Studying abroad always appealed to me, but it's difficult to do that as a Physics major. When it came down to deciding, I chose to come to Copenhagen after talking to some friends who had done a lot of traveling and they had nothing but the best things to say about it.

Can you tell me about your summer research project?

I am working with Kasper Heintz and we're looking at [CII] and Lyman Alpha emission in high redshift galaxies. We're noticing that there can be a velocity offset between the two and we are exploring that in more detail.

What skills and knowledge would you like to acquire this summer?

I feel like I've already gotten better at reading papers. I'm excited that I get to learn more about a different topic in astronomy. My work at the University of Cincinnati is more about X-ray images of galaxy clusters, so it is a bit different. I would like to get better at coding, and I've been learning some useful coding skills, like fitting a gaussian to spectral data.

If you could have any superpower what would it be?

I would be able to function on very little sleep.

Meet the DAWN-IRES Scholars: Sam Cutler

Tell me a little about yourself.

I am a third year PhD student at University of Massachusetts and I live out there in Western Massachusetts. I am from Northern Connecticut which is a similar area. In my free time I like to play music. I play the electric bass and the cello, and I like to play prog rock/metal and classical music. I like to play and watch any sport. Recently my favorite sports to play are soccer and frisbee. I play a lot of board games with friends. I really like geography -- maps, any kind of exploring of places and exploring the areas around.

How did you get interested in astronomy?

I don't know if there is any one thing that got me interested in astronomy. I have always been interested in science, math, and physics. But I guess the scale and how grand astronomy is what drew me in. I didn't go to college knowing I wanted to do astronomy, but it became interesting to me over time.

What is your favorite part about Copenhagen? DAWN?

I like how easy it is to get around-- walking, metro, biking. I also like how much there is to do and see that you can get to super easily. I've spent time at Tivoli, gone to some museums, gone to Reffen, did a canal tour, and spent time in some parks.

DAWN feels really lively. There's always people eating or hanging around in the hall, so you really get to see everyone and interact with people. That is helpful for motivating you to do work, as opposed to being trapped in your office alone.

What motivated you to apply to an international REU?

I had done a program similar to this at DARK, so I already knew I liked Copenhagen and the idea of an international REU. I hoped that now as a grad student and having experience here that that could kind of help. I thought my experience would be able to help others as well.

Can you tell me about your PhD research?

Most recently I have been measuring resolved star formation histories for star forming galaxies. I'm pivoting now towards trying to infer them for quenched galaxies. I also work a lot with making galaxy catalogs -- for morphology and photometry.

What skills and knowledge would you like to acquire this summer?

Mentoring and leadership. Also, hopefully being able to improve skills to set up pipelines to make catalogs. I'd also like to improve on data presentation, e.g., giving talks.

If you could have any superpower what would it be?

Seeing how rough flying has been for people in the last few weeks, it would be great to get to teleport.

---

Visit Sam’s professional webpage at https://samecutler.github.io or follow him on Twitter @secutler.

Meet the DAWN-IRES Scholars: Sarah Bodansky

Tell me a little about yourself.

I'm going to be a second year grad student at UMass Amherst, and I study galaxy evolution. I'm from Phoenix, Arizona, but I've lived all over the US at various points. I like to read all sorts of books, but especially fantasy. My favorites right now are the Broken Earth Trilogy and The Dispossessed. I like hanging out with my pets (I have a dog and cat at home and a cat in Massachusetts), cooking, and going on Wikipedia for long periods of time. I play a few instruments badly-- piano, guitar and ukulele.

How did you get interested in astronomy?

I was always excited by space as a kid, but I was also interested in science in general. When I got to college I was thinking about being a biology major, but I took a physics class instead and really liked that. I started doing research with Cindy Blaha at Carleton College who studies Local Group galaxies. I really enjoyed that experience and then realized that I loved physics and astronomy.

What is your favorite part about Copenhagen?  DAWN?

I love how walkable and bikeable and how easy to get around it is. I've only lived in places where the easiest way to get around is by car so I love the emphasis on public transport and biking. It's a really liveable city. I like how collaborative DAWN is and how it seems like everyone is working on similar problems. It seems like a really great environment to study high redshift galaxies.

What motivated you to apply to an international REU?

My advisor being involved definitely influenced me to apply, but also I've never had the chance to do a study abroad type program in undergrad so it seemed like a neat opportunity to live somewhere else for a while and get to do research.

Can you tell me about your PhD research?

Broadly, I am studying how dust evolves in galaxies from cosmic noon to the more local universe. The project I'm working on right now is how dust mass in star forming galaxies evolves using LMT/TolTEC data.

What skills and knowledge would you like to acquire this summer?

I've mostly been trying to develop a stacking algorithm so that when I get data from TolTEC I will be able to immediately process it and get the dust masses for the galaxies I'm working with. I'm also improving my biking skills -- before this summer, I hadn't ridden a bike since elementary school.

If you could have any superpower what would it be?

I think the ability to control time would be helpful. Not necessarily being able to go forward or backwards in time, but just pause.