I graduated from the University of Otago in 2012 with a B.Sc. (Hons) after working with Dr Claudine Stirling studying the uranium isotope composition of meteorites.
I started my PhD at the University of Virginia (UVA) (http://www.virginia.edu/) in August 2013 on a Fulbright Science and Innovation graduate award. I began my PhD here working on laboratory astrochemistry (molecular astrophysics) with world renowned surface scientist John T. Yates Jr. (who unfortunately passed away a few weeks ago).
Astrochemistry is (broadly) the study of chemistry in space. My research focuses on chemistry occurring on ices that envelop small dust particles in the interstellar medium. These dust grains are considered to be catalysts for producing the molecules that we observe in nebulae using radio telescopes. I study these processes in the laboratory by mimicking conditions in the interstellar medium i.e. using low temperatures and pressures as well as radiation. The photo shows me working with a hydrogen
discharge lamp that is producing Lyman alpha radiation, common in molecular
clouds.
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| Ilsa working with a hydrogen discharge lamp in the lab. |
