Sean Richards — the Ordinary Starman

What I am all about.

I work with stellar models — primarily the BPASS models and the STARS code. I study compact remnant population synthesis, and the nature of the natal supernova kick. I use the observed merger rate densities from LIGO and VIRGO to constrain values of the kick parameters — α and β for the Bray kick, and σ for the Hobbs kick.

I also have a strong interest in computational astrophysics. My background in Computer Science has equipped me to deal with large-scale stellar modelling, and I am currently developing the BPASS v3 data release.

Curious about my PhD? Look at the data tracker here!

Expertise

Bachelor of Science

Majoring in Computer Science (algorithmics & computability focus) and Physics (astrophysics focus)

Postgraduate Diploma in Science

Working with Te Pūnaha Ātea to develop the University of Auckland Ground Station One.

Master of Science

Working with Professor Jan Eldridge (Head of Physics) to determine the nature of the natal supernova kick.

PhD Candidate

Working with Professor Jan Eldridge, Dr Nick Rattenbury, and Dr Héloïse Stevance to further efficiently model the full physics of binary star systems.

Programming

I've been programming for years. My native language is Python, but I've also had experience in C, C++, C#, Lua, HTML/CSS/JS/jQuery, Fortran (77, 95, 2003), PHP, and Julia. You can check out my GitHub for some examples, or click a button below!

Kaitiaki - Plotfiles Takahe - Integrator MyBBWiki - Plugins

Documents

Get a copy of my CV Read my Masters Thesis Find me on ADS

Contact

Address
38 Princes Street
Auckland Central
Auckland 1010
New Zealand

Email
sean.richards@auckland.ac.nz