Students

I mentor undergraduates and graduate students working on astronomy & astrophysics research projects as part of their degree plans or independent research experiences. My previous mentees have positions in the U.S. and Europe.

Formal instruction (Fall 2025 / Spring 2026):   PHY 2103 Modern Physics, an introduction to relativity, quantum physics, and their applications & implications.

Undergraduate Research Projects

The Open Cluster (OC) Project is a multi-year undergraduate research experience that explores how to identify fainter (M < 0.5 M_⊙) stars in Galactic open clusters. Accurate detection of these stars will provides new constraints on 3D cluster shape (including possible tidal tails), lower main sequence characteristics, and total cluster mass.

The primary source catalog is Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3). Manual, unsupervised machine learning and semi-supervised machine learning approaches are being explored. From a mathematical perspective, this is constraining structure in n-dimensional point clouds.

In addition to expanding their astronomy & astrophysics knowledge, students also deepened their technical knowledge related to data visualization for large (N > 500_000) datasets, finding structures in n-dimensional datasets, and using Python in cloud-based JupyterLab environment. They also experience how to work within a team oriented project.

Collaborator:  Dr. Alperen Ergür (Computer Science / Mathematics)
Current:  Manual Candanoza (Physics & Astronomy), Lizette Rodriguez (Physics & Astronomy), Ricardo Vega (Physics & Astronomy)
Recent graduates:  Farhan Tajwar Romit (Computer Science)

Former Undergraduate Mentees

Anastasia Alexov:   Vera C. Rubin Observatory System Commissioning Manager (Mentee, NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate, Kitt Peak National Observatory, 1992)

Jacob Escalante:   Power Generation Analyst, CPS Energy (research student, UTSA, Spring / Summer 2021)

Nathan Schreffler:   Client Data Analyst, J.P. Morgan (research student, UTSA, Summer 2021)

Graduate Research Projects

With Dr. Alperen Ergür (Computer Science / Mathematics), I am co-mentoring Chris La Valle, a masters student working on finding structure in Gaia DR3 data using topological approach based on Mapper.

I am mentoring Lani Oramas, an astrophysics doctoral student exploring how quasi-periodic eruptions (OPE) and quasi-periodic oscillations (OPO) produced by Jet / Accretion Disk / Black Hole (JAB) systems (aka supermassive blackholes, SMBH or active galactic nuclei, AGN) open windows on their underlying physical properties.

Former Graduate Mentees

Dr. Simona Mei: Distinguished professor (PREX2) at Université Paris Cité (doctoral student, co-advisor, 1998 — 1999)

Dr. Marina Rejkuba: European Southern Observatory, Staff Astronomer and Head of the User Support Department (doctoral student, co-advisor, 2002 — 2004)

Dr. Maria Lyubenova: European Southern Observatory, Staff Astronomer and Head of Media Relations (doctoral student, co-advisor, 2005 — 2008)