Toward the Next Breakthroughs in Time-Domain Astronomy: The Origins of Fast Radio Bursts

Astronomical surveys which repeatedly image the sky have revealed that our universe is full of cosmic transients, or sources that change in brightness over time. As a Cottrell Scholar, I will identify the origins of a mysterious and prolific class of intense, millisecond transients: Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). Taking advantage of newly-commissioned FRB experiments that provide new discoveries, I will probe novel regimes on the electromagnetic spectrum to cross-correlate all known FRBs with historical transients at other wavelengths on a wide range of timescales. I will navigate the growing, complex web of heterogeneous, time-varying data to unearth connections between FRBs and complementary signals, with the goal of providing significant breakthroughs to their origins. I will apply these tools to real-time FRB discoveries and to transient discoveries by next-generation surveys. My program concurrently advances methods in astrophysics, time-series analysis, and data science. Motivated by the fast-paced, competitive field of time-domain astronomy, and the transformative social justice movement in our community, I will develop educational programming to cultivate that crucial “sense of belonging” in higher education, that research has shown to be so paramount to the persistence of female and under-represented minority groups in physics and STEM at large. In partnership with researchers in education and diversity, I will develop and teach an innovative and sustainable undergraduate course to recognize and discuss the contributions of women and astronomers of color to major astronomical discoveries in history. I will also make Northwestern a hub of the American Physical Society’s Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, providing a further avenue for talented, but underserved, f-URM students to matriculate to graduate school.