After my first week in training, I have really enjoyed being in Austin.  The research I will be conducting will be with Dr. Karl Gebhardt, Emily McClinden, and Dustin Davis in the Astrophysics department.  We will be primarily testing the robustness of the detection algorithm for the HETDEX unit and we will be creating plots based on the data we find in order to determine the best parameters we need to use to maximize detection of the point sources we provide to the data frame.

The main goal of this project is to test theories regarding dark energy, the force that drives our universe to expand faster and faster as it ages.  By observing this data, we can determine which theories on dark energy can be thrown out and which ones can be seen as plausible.  Our task is to narrow down these theories and gain a better understanding of this force which dominates our universe.

Austin is a beautiful city and we had the pleasure of visiting the state capital today!