Skip to main content

PEOPLE

Current Group Members:

ANISH ARADHEY

undergraduate student

Anish Aradhey is a sophomore pursuing a B.S. in Astrophysics and a B.A. in Biology. He will spend the Fall 2024 semester quantifying the mid-infrared variability of hot subluminous stars. Anish first gained research experience in astrophysics at James Madison University while still in high school. In his free time, he enjoys reading and training for his next half-marathon. Anish is a Robertson Scholar and is originally from Harrisonburg, VA.

BRAD BARLOW

associate professor

Brad is an associate professor of physics & astronomy who joined the UNC faculty in 2023. Before that, he spent 11 years teaching and doing research with undergraduate physics majors at High Point University, where he was Associate Professor of Astrophysics, Director of Culp Planetarium, and Co-Director of the Natural Sciences Fellows Program. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in physics from Mississippi State University in 2006, his Master’s degree from UNC in 2008, and his Ph.D. from UNC in 2011. He spent two years working as a postdoctoral research scholar in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at Penn State University. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking, playing the piano, bowling, and spending time with his wife Jenn and kids Josie (4) and Clare (6). Brad is originally from Biloxi, Mississippi.

BENNETT KIRBY

undergraduate student

Bennett is a junior undergraduate physics major from Champaign, Illinois. He has worked with Dr. Barlow on ellipsoidal and pulsating hot subdwarfs since his freshman year. He transferred from High Point University to the University of Chapel Hill alongside Dr. Barlow to continue his education and research, hoping to pursue a Ph.D. in astronomy. He is currently working with Leo Trbonja on a project funded by the NC Space Grant to search for new spider binaries using the optical signatures of their irradiated companions. In his spare time, Bennett enjoys playing golf and chess, cheering for his favorite Chicago sports teams, spending time with his family, and traveling. His favorite memory with Dr. Barlow so far was exploring the interesting area of downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, during the 242nd AAS meeting.

ALEKZANDER KOSAKOWSKI

postdoctoral research associate

Alekzander is an observational astronomer specializing in studies of merging white dwarf binaries as gravitational wave sources and progenitors to stably accreting binaries, massive single white dwarfs, and supernovae. He uses data from large ground-based telescopes to characterize binaries through detailed photometric and spectroscopic analyses. His work makes use of archival data sets from time domain surveys, such as ZTF and TESS, to identify white dwarf systems which show periodic photometric variability on timescales ranging from minutes to hours. Alekzander is the project lead for the “ELM Survey South,” a spectroscopic survey designed to identify and characterize Extremely Low Mass white dwarfs in the southern sky. 

REGAN PARKER

undergraduate student

Regan Parker is a Junior pursuing a B.S. in Physics with a minor in Statistics and Analytics. She is originally from Currituck, NC. Regan participated in ERIRA (Educational Research in Radio Astronomy) in the summer of 2023, when she first gained introductory research and field experience in astronomy. She is particularly interested in observational and experimental physics, and using data analysis to tackle complex challenges. Regan will spend the fall 2024 semester analyzing and classifying light curves of hot subluminous stars obtained by TESS during Cycles 6 & 7.

BRYCE SMITH

graduate student

Bryce Smith is a first-year graduate student from Evergreen, Colorado. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy. Bryce graduated with a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from High Point University in December of 2023. There, he studied hot subdwarfs and similar objects under Brad Barlow. He is currently focused on the analysis of two pulsating hot subdwarf binaries and passing his qualifying exams. Outside of physics, Bryce is an avid chess player, weight lifter, and Denver Broncos enthusiast. His favorite experience in physics was getting to witness an especially active Leonids meteor shower during an observing run at Cerro Tololo. 

VIOLET TRBONJA

undergraduate student

Violet Trbonja is a senior undergraduate student at UNC Chapel Hill, where she is studying physics. Having lived internationally throughout childhood Violet has called North Carolina home since 2019. She is working with Bennett Kirby on a project funded by the NC Space Grant to search for new spider binaries using the optical signatures of their irradiated companions. In her free time, Violet enjoys reading, playing video games, and following professional tennis.

FRANCIS WANG

undergraduate student

Francis Wang is a sophomore who is currently pursuing a BS in physics and a BS in mathematics. He was born in Beijing China and went to high school in Hudson, Ohio. He is currently working to extract long cadence data of hot subluminous dwarfs from TESS. Francis is also currently working in Dr.Henning’s group on neutrinoless double-beta decay and Majorana Detector. In the future, he hopes to continue pursuing physics in graduate school. Outside the classroom, Francis is also a runner, film enthusiast, passionate Gooners, and an inadequate soccer player. His favorite experience in physics/astronomy was attending the Messier marathon with his friends.

Frequent Collaborators:

Our research group works with astronomers across the globe on projects focused on hot subdwarfs, white dwarfs, and related objects. Some of our closest collaborators are listed below:

Former Group Members:

I have been lucky to work with more than two dozen students on a variety of projects so far in my career. Research topics have included everything from extreme binary systems to building simple instrumentation with Raspberry Pis to modeling pulsating stars. Working with students on research and watching them grow as scientists has been the most fulfilling part of my job. Below is a list of past students who have worked in my group, most of whom are undergraduate physics majors from High Point University.

My Mentors & Advisers:

Like all scientists, I’ve only gotten to where I am today thanks to the generous and unwavering support of several mentors who worked with me over the years. The most influential are listed below.

  • Briana Fiser – physics dept. chair @ High Point University
  • Aaron Titus – physics dept. chair @ High Point University
  • Richard Wade – Postdoc research adviser @ Penn State University
  • Chris Clemens – PhD/M.S. research adviser @ UNC-CH
  • John Patrick Lestrade – undergrad research adviser @ Mississippi State University
  • John Powell – high school science teacher @ St. Martin High School in Biloxi, MS; taught my first physics & astronomy courses
  • Helene Ederer – middle school science teacher @ St. Martin Middle School in Biloxi, MS; taught my first chemistry course; made our class memorize the periodic table