Overview
I am a fourth year graduate student, working with Dr. Rachel Bean on theoretical cosmology. My current research focuses on N-body simulations for different modified gravity models. The recently observed accelerated expansion of the universe, is maybe the most challenging problem in cosmology and has been attracting increasing attention. Besides the standard theoretical explanation within the framework of general relativity, the so-called dark energy, other models suggest that small modifications to general relativity can reproduce the same observational outcome. The large scale structure of the universe carries a wealth of information about the underlying fundamental physics and thus simulating it can help us differentiate between those different cosmological scenarios. Using a mixture of analytical results from lagrangian perturbation theory and full N-body work, we can further speed up the current modified gravity simulations.
Before joining Cornell, I did my undergraduate studies in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, from which I received a B.S. degree in physics in 2014. There, I investigated analytical solutions for general relativistic accretion disks with toroidal magnetic fields.
During the 2014-15 academic year I served as a teaching assistant for the 1101-02 introduction to astronomy classes.
In my free time, I enjoy playing basketball and other sports and also taking part in outreach activities, such as answering questions for the Ask an Astronomer website.
Research Focus
Advisor: Professor Rachel Bean
Cosmology, general relativity, theoretical astrophysics