Piere Joyner

One of my earliest memories of my interest in astronomy is sitting on the couch binge-watching Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Cosmos,” enamored with how our universe works.

I am passionate about the creation and evolution of galaxies. I want to know more about the different ways galaxies can be formed and what factors may cause evolution in galaxies. In addition, I am also interested in how galaxy evolution affects star formation.

My plan with my degree involves pursuing a Ph.D. in astrophysics at, I hope, Caltech. I want to advance research in cosmology focusing on galaxy evolution and creation. I aim to contribute to our understanding through observational and theoretical work. Eventually, I want to secure a position as a researcher who can mentor college students so they can get their first experience of research. Additionally, I plan to engage in public outreach to make astrophysics more accessible to different demographics.

I am currently finishing up a summer research project. The project’s main goal was to see how the star formation rate of galaxies changes with redshift. We learned to use programs such as CASA to analyze galaxies and radio astronomy, and we hope to continue the research further to write a paper on it.