Georg Rieger (rieger@phas.ubc.ca) and Brett Gladman (gladman@astro.ubc.ca>)
All are welcome to this event!
Event Information:
Abstract:
Searches for planets beyond the Solar System ("exoplanets") have been spectacularly successful in identifying thousands of diverse new worlds, placing the Solar System in context and informing our understanding of how planets form and evolve. Finding large numbers of planets also enables demographic studies, through which we can uncover which types of planets are more common than others and why. I will highlight contributions to exoplanet discovery and demographics, from planets of all sizes and implications for the existence of other Earths from Kepler, to the exciting potential of TESS to significantly expand our understanding of planets around nearby, bright stars amenable to follow-up and further characterization. Finally, I will identify a set of important open questions that remain to be answered and outline future goals to push exoplanet science to new frontiers, especially in the context of the search for habitable worlds.
Bio:
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia. My research is primarily focused on exoplanet detection, characterization, and demographics. I approach these fields in data-driven ways, developing and improving techniques to extract as much as we can from exoplanet surveys while answering key science questions along the way.
I was previously a Torres postdoctoral fellow and TESS postdoctoral associate at MIT. I obtained my PhD in Astronomy from UBC in 2020.
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2024-09-12T16:00:002024-09-12T17:00:00Exploring Exoplanet Demographics with Kepler, TESS, and BeyondEvent Information:
Abstract:
Searches for planets beyond the Solar System ("exoplanets") have been spectacularly successful in identifying thousands of diverse new worlds, placing the Solar System in context and informing our understanding of how planets form and evolve. Finding large numbers of planets also enables demographic studies, through which we can uncover which types of planets are more common than others and why. I will highlight contributions to exoplanet discovery and demographics, from planets of all sizes and implications for the existence of other Earths from Kepler, to the exciting potential of TESS to significantly expand our understanding of planets around nearby, bright stars amenable to follow-up and further characterization. Finally, I will identify a set of important open questions that remain to be answered and outline future goals to push exoplanet science to new frontiers, especially in the context of the search for habitable worlds.
Bio:
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia.My research is primarily focused on exoplanet detection, characterization, and demographics. I approach these fields in data-driven ways, developing and improving techniques to extract as much as we can from exoplanet surveys while answering key science questions along the way.
I was previously a Torres postdoctoral fellow and TESS postdoctoral associate at MIT. I obtained my PhD in Astronomy from UBC in 2020.
Learn More:
See Michelle's website here: About | Michelle Kunimoto (mkunimoto.github.io)
See Michelle's PHAS faculty page here: mkuni | UBC Physics & Astronomy
Find out more about exoplanets: The exoplanet zoo | Canadian Space Agency (asc-csa.gc.ca)
Event Location:
Mathematics Annex (MATX) 1100, 1986 Mathematics Road, UBC-V campus
