I am the vice president of the Troy Astronomical Society (TAS). Formed in 2021, the TAS is a club comprised of amateur astronomers, professional astronomers, physicists, and undergraduates of all majors. During the fall and spring semesters, we hold monthly meetings featuring astronomy talks, recent astronomy news, and observing sessions. Click on the image above to join our Facebook group!

The Tully-Fisher relation shows a correlation between the rotational velocity of a spiral galaxy (the width of the emission line, corrected for the inclination of the galaxy) and its absolute magnitude. Therefore, if the rotational velocity is known, then the true brightness of a galaxy can be achieved.

    The Tully-Fisher relation's main importance to extragalactic astronomy is distance measurement. Because the relation gives absolute magnitude, if we compare that value to the measured apparent magnitude of the same galaxy, then the distance can be measured (in short, comparing how bright something actually is to how bright it appears to be shows how far away it must be).

Fall Semester 2022

SCI 1110: Exploring the Solar System
M, W, F, 8:00am - 8:50pm
MSCX 118

SCI L110: Exploring the Solar System Lab
M, 2:00pm - 3:50pm
MSCX 112

SCI 2240: Principles of Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology
M, W, F, 12:00pm - 12:50pm
MSCX 118

SCI L240: Principles of Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology Lab
F, 2:00pm - 3:50pm
MSCX 112

SCI L233: Physical Science Lab
T, 8:00am - 9:50am
MSCX 112

SCI L233: Physical Science Lab
T, 10:00am - 12:50pm
MSCX 112

SCI L233: Physical Science Lab
T, 4:00pm - 5:50pm
MSCX 112

SCI 1110 Online: Exploring the Solar System
Aug 15 - Oct 14

SCI L110 Online: Exploring the Solar System Lab
Aug 15 - Oct 7

Reverberation Mapping is a technique to measure the mass of an active supermassive black hole. Light that is ejected from the accretion disk emits in all directions, some towards us, and some towards the surrounding broad line region clouds. The clouds reflect the incoming light, causing an echo in the signals we dectect from an AGN: one signal from the light emitted towards us, another signal from the reflected light. The echo, or reverberation, allows the size of the broad line region to be measured. The size in combination with the rotation speed of the broad line region clouds allows the mass of the supermassive black hole to be measured.

I use reverberation mapping data to model the broad line regions in nearby AGN host galaxies. These models tell us the geometry of the region, how it is oriented with respect to our observing point of view, and the dynamics of the gas. This allows us not only measure supermassive black hole masses, but determine if gas is actively rotating around, inflowing towards, or outflowing away from the black hole.

I was the pilot graduate ambassador for the Georgia Outreach Team for Space (GOT Space). Since the founding of GOT Space in 2018, our team has expanded to ~20 undergraduate and ~10 graduate ambassadors from Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, and Kennesaw State University. We have impacted nearly 3000 K-12 students in 15 schools across 6 Georgia districts (and still counting!). We proudly continue to be partnered with and funded by the Georgia Space Grant Consortium.

For more information on GOT Space, or to request a presentation, please visit our website: 

GOT Space Webpage

Office Hours

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

9:00am - 11:00am

Office: MSCX 215 H