David James Vermilion

I am currently a doctoral student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at George Mason University, working toward a Ph.D. in Physics with a concentration in Astrophysics. I work with exoplanet transit data provided by the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), and conduct ground-based astronomical observations to verify the transit data from TESS. I conduct optical observations of TESS targets using the 32-in Ritchey-Chretein optical telescope located on the George Mason University campus in Fairfax, Virginia. I conduct infrared observations using the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) located on top of Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii. Optical image processing skills include the reduction of raw data, plate solving, aperture photometry, and light curve modeling and detrending. Infrared image processing skills include the reduction of raw data, extracting the radial velocities (RVs) from collected spectral data, and generating predictive models of exoplanetary systems based on the RV data, using Python-based code. My primary research interests include: the detection and characterization of exoplanets around sun-like stars, including K-stars and M dwarf stars, planetary system formation and evolution, the exploration of planets and moons in our solar system, with a focus on the terrestrial worlds of the inner solar system, the ocean worlds of the outer solar system, and astrobiology and the detection of biosignatures on other worlds. Other research interests that fall within the area of observational astrophysics include the formation and evolution of galaxies, the structure of compact objects, and the study of other astronomical phenomena using optical, infrared, x-ray, and gamma ray astronomy. systems, and the search for biosignatures on other worlds within our Solar System and elsewhere in the Universe.