Teaching
UC San Diego
ASTR 121 — The Explosive Universe
A brand-new undergraduate course on transient astronomy and the explosive universe. Topics include supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, neutron star mergers, gravitational-wave sources, and other energetic transients. The course covers both the physics behind these extreme events and the multi-messenger observational techniques used to study them, connecting modern survey astronomy with cutting-edge gravitational-wave discoveries.
ASTR 201 — Radiative Processes
A graduate-level course covering the fundamental physics of how radiation is produced, transported, and absorbed in astrophysical environments. Topics include blackbody radiation, bremsstrahlung, synchrotron emission, Compton scattering, and radiative transfer theory. These processes underpin nearly all observational astrophysics and are essential tools for interpreting observations across the electromagnetic spectrum.
ASTR 211 — Stellar Evolution and Stellar Structure
A graduate-level course on the physics governing the structure and evolution of stars, from formation to compact remnants. Topics include hydrostatic equilibrium, nuclear burning stages, stellar winds, mass transfer in binary systems, and the endpoints of stellar evolution — white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. The course provides the theoretical foundation needed to understand gravitational-wave progenitor populations and transient phenomena.
Harvard University
ASTR 214 — Observational Astronomy
A graduate-level course on the instrumentation and techniques of observational astronomy. Topics include telescope optics, detector technology, signal-to-noise analysis, spectroscopy, imaging, and data reduction methods. Students gain hands-on experience with real observational data and develop the technical skills needed to design and execute astronomical observations across wavelength regimes.
ASTR 1 — Introduction to Astronomy
A general education course introducing astronomy to undergraduate students with no prior background in physics or mathematics. Topics span the solar system, stars, galaxies, and cosmology, with an emphasis on how we know what we know — the methods and observations that have shaped our understanding of the universe. The course aims to convey the excitement of modern astronomical discovery to a broad audience.
Guest Lectures
Gravitational Wave School, Saas-Fee, Switzerland
Taught week-long lectures on the formation channels of compact object binaries to an audience of ~50 PhD students at the prestigious Saas-Fee Advanced Course in Astrophysics. The lectures covered isolated binary evolution, dynamical formation, and the connection to gravitational-wave observations from LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA.
Python Latino Initiative (LIP) Program, Harvard
Taught two guest lectures on data investigation with Python for students in Harvard's Latino Initiative Program in Physics, introducing scientific computing skills in an accessible and inclusive setting.