Cosmic Topology
What is the 'shape' of the universe? What does 'shape' even mean? I explore these questions and more as part of the COMPACT Collaboration and in my Master's Thesis.
Pip Samuel Petersen
First-year Astronomy PhD Student
at the University of Washington.
NSF GRFP Fellow | ARCS Fellow | APS Bridge Scholar
I am an LGBTQ+, first-generation, Puerto Rican, low-income student working towards my PhD in Astronomy. This intersectional background strongly influences my academic, personal, and professional goals.
I am currently an NSF GRFP and ARCS Fellow in the Astronomy department at the University of Washington. Prior to UW, I was an APS Bridge Scholar at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio where I completed my Masters degree in Physics under the supervision of Dr. Glenn Starkman. I earned my undergraduate degrees at Pennsylvania State University in Astronomy & Astrophysics and Mathematics, where I completed my Honors Thesis with Dr. Martin Bojowald.
I grew up in the suburbs of New York and Philadelphia, freqenting the cities on the weekend to visit family (and so self-identify sort of as a native New Yorker although true New Yorkers would probably scoff at that).
Outside of work, I spend much of my time rock climbing, playing board games, collecting old decks of playing cards, needle felting, and running.
Selected Research
I have done reserach in Organic Chemistry, Quantum Cosmology, and most recently Cosmic Topology.
Quantum Cosmology
How can you model the tunneling evolution of the oscillating universe model? How do particles in a higher-order phase space evolve when trapped in a bound region? I explore this here and in my Senior Thesis
Service & Leadership
A combination of some of my past experiences, EDI work, and resources I have gathered from my professional expereiences.