I’m Emma, a Ph.D. candidate in the Astronomy Department at Boston University. I graduated from UMass Amherst in 2021 with a B.S. in Astrophysics & Physics, discovered my passion for interdisciplinary research, and ate a lot of good food. Here at BU, I continue my research in space physics while making astronomy more accessible to underprivileged students.
I work with Prof. Carl Schmidt to research alkalis in Europa’s atmosphere. I use ground-based spectroscopy to measure sodium and potassium at the Galilean moon– a moon that harbors a subsurface ocean with unknown salinity. My work offers insight to the habitability of Europa, provides science support for Juno flyby’s, and informs future missions such as Europa Clipper and JUICE.
When I’m not hard at work, I’m usually eating some delicious Cantonese food, traveling with my little sisters, or watching The Office (again and again and again).