I am a NASA Hubble Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My primary research area is the study of stellar variability in open clusters. I became fixated on anomalous rotators in these systems, which fueled my interest in the last impacts generated by star+planet interactions. My work intersects theory and observation, as I leverage data to build models that reproduce the observational properties of stars. I am particularly interested in investigating cluster stars that exhibit anomalous rotational signatures and peculiar abundances. What percentage of such stars were produced by planetary ingestion events?
 
I obtained my Bachelor's degree in physics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2020, I received my Ph.D. in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University. I am a first-generation college student and the daughter of an immigrant family (migration to the US from the Povoação and Nordeste regions of São Miguel, Azores in 1966). Here, you can learn more about the history of the Azores (long considered a colony of Portugal and now an autonomous, self-governing region of Portugal). A study of the genetic make-up of the people who inhabit this remote archipelago can be found here.  
 
My hobbies include photography and amassing a collection of rare astronomy textbooks. Our family recently adopted Murphy and Lily Belle, two energetic golden retrievers that love hiking and snacks.

You can read about my research ethos here.