Name: Lucy Collins
Major: Physics
Research Location: University of Notre Dame
The goal of Lucy's research was to program a model (using Python) that could estimate the line-of-sight velocity of gas in the circumgalactic medium (CGM: a large gaseous halo surrounding a galaxy) for the Andromeda Galaxy. Here, she searched for the coordinates of various quasi-stellar objects (QSOs: bright objects, whose spectra are used to study the material they pass through). In the future, this model will be used to compare with the measured velocity from these QSOs and allow us to determine the prevalence of corotation in the CGM, and gain more information about the kinematics and interactions of the CGM.
Lucy says, "After this experience, I think that it is more likely that I will go to grad school, since the REU did a fantastic job of explaining how graduate school works and exposing us to the process of applying, as well as how a career in academia would follow after finishing a PhD. Because I was able to learn so much more about the logistics of graduate school, and because I've been exposed to the process of doing research, I think that I'm now more interested in getting a PhD."