In my research I try to understand the physical processes that regulate how stars and planets form. My goal is to answer a big mystery in astrophysics: why is the process of forming stars from interstellar gas so inefficient? To address these problems I work with an international collaboration of scientists to build and fly balloon-borne telescopes, which map nearby and distant star-forming regions from the stratosphere (above more than 99.5% of the Earth’s atmosphere). I also use ground-based telescopes from around the world to make even more detailed maps of star and planet formation in our Galaxy.

I am actively recruiting Masters and PhD students for projects on studying star formation and planet formation, and designing and building balloon-borne telescopes. Please email me if you have questions or would like more information.