I work on gravitational wave astronomy. Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime itself and are an intrinsic prediction of General Relativity. The strongest waves are attributed to the most extreme and violent astrophysical events, such as the merger of two neutron stars and black holes, as well as the big bang itself. Decades of theoretical and experimental efforts are about to culminate in the direct detection of gravitational waves for the first time. Such measurements will offer us an unprecedented view onto strong-field gravity in action.

My research focuses on using joint gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations to uncover the physics of strong-field gravity events, in particular compact [aka. white dwarf, neutron star and black hole] binary mergers.  My current projects address the following challenges:

i). localizing compact binary mergers using worldwide networks of gravitational-wave interferometers and synoptic wide-field time-domain electromagnetic surveys (such as the Palomar Transient Factory II and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope);

ii). revealing compact binary physics, improving our understanding of binary stellar evolution, and constraining cosmological parameters with the use of both gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations;

iii). analytical and numerical modelling of neutron star and black hole binary mergers in General Relativity in order to detect and characterize them;

iv). astrophysical sources for third generation gravitational-wave detectors (operating in the 10mHz-10Hz regime);

v). source characterization, including development of MCMC techniques.