About Me

I'm Jamie, currently a David and Ellen Lee Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Physics at the California Institue of Technology (Caltech). I'm an observational cosmologist interested in studying the physics of the very beginnings of the Universe through measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and of large-scale structure (LSS). I'm particularly interested in the intersection of data collection/quality and analysis, which is becoming increasingly important as datasets grow and statistical uncertainties shrink.

I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017, majoring in Physics and Astronomy with a concentration in computational physics. While at the University of Illinois, I worked on the SPT-3G camera for the South Pole Telescope under Professor Joaquin Vieira. My work in graduate school at the University of Minnesota's Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, under professer Clem Pryke, focused on the BICEP/Keck series of CMB polarization experiments, which are searching for the echoes of the Big Bang from the geographic South Pole. I received my PhD in Astrophysics in 2024. Since arriving at Caltech, in addition to continuing work with BICEP/Keck, I have also joined the SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) cosmology science team, probing at the Big Bang from a different direction. More information about my work may be found on my Research page.

When I'm not thinking about CMB polarization, I like to play the guitar, read, snuggle with my cat, and hone my amateur barista skills. I am originally from Nashville, Tennessee.

Research

A significant aspect of my research involves observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the 13.8 billion year-old afterglow of the Big Bang. Fluctuations in this afterglow contain a wealth of information about the early Universe, with much focus currently being directed towards the CMB's polarization. A characteristic parity-odd "B-mode" polarization imprint at ~degree angular scales is a generic prediction of a wide variety of cosmic inflationary models, being uniquely generated at the last scattering surface by primordial gravitational waves (PGW) generated by inflation. Searching for this B-mode polarization pattern then facilitates tight constraints on inflation's energy scale and its possible mechanisms.

I am a member of the BICEP/Keck Collaboration, who have published the most sensitive constraints to date on the amplitude of primordial gravitational waves: \(\sigma(r)=0.009\), yielding a constraint \(r_{0.05}<0.036\) (95% C.L.) (The BICEP/Keck Collaboration, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 151301 (2021)). This was achieved and continues to be furthered by fielding a series of small-aperture refracting telescopes at the geographic South Pole to accumulate data at multiple observing frequencies over many seasons of stable Polar winter conditions. The use of small-aperture refractors facilitates tight systematic error control and mitigation, and provides the flexibility to enable regular upgrades.

Another significant aspect of my research is the effort to measure or constrain primordial non-Gaussianity using the SPHEREx space telescope. The most generic and simple models of inflation predict that the fluctuations will be Gaussian — distributed like a regular "bell curve". Deviations from this simple assumption, for instance, multiple fields driving the dynamics of inflation, would cause the spectrum of primordial perturbations to deviate from this simple Gaussian. These "non-Gaussianities" may be able to be detected through their influence on the large-scale clustering of galaxies. SPHEREx will conduct a novel all-sky spectral survey, enabling the construction of a "3-D" map of our local Universe with unprecedented fidelity, which we can use to answer these questions. My work with SPHEREx focuses primarily on assessing the impact of systematic errors and effects which could degrade the non-Gaussianity measurement.

Teaching & Outreach

Engaging the public with real science, providing transparency about science itself and the scientific process, and just sharing our wonder for the incredible Universe we live in are things that have been and remain quite important to me. In graduate school, I was consistently involved with the University of Minnesota's Universe in the Park program, traveling to local parks around the Twin Cities to give talks about various topics in astrophysics and allowing the public to observe through our portable telescopes. I was also involved in the inaugural Twin Cities "Astronomy on Tap" event in 2022, and have given various public talks about CMB cosmology and Antarctic science. I was the recipient of MIfA's "Best Outreach" award for Spring 2019.

Engaging with the public is always something I'm interested in, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you have opportunities in-mind.