Research Courses Papers Publications

Papers

Here is a small selection of papers I wrote during my academic career. For my published work, see this page.

Extrasolar Planetary System Architectures

A paper from a graduate course on planetary system formation.

Introduction: The Solar System appears to have a well-defined architecture in terms of the distribution of planets about the Sun: larger gas and ice giants have larger orbital radii than smaller terrestrial planets. Astronomy is now at a point where dozens of extrasolar planets are discovered per year, over 60 in both 2007 and 2008,1 so that we can compare the architecture of the Solar System to other stellar systems and perform meaningful statistical analyses. As we uncover more and more extrasolar planets, we can address the question of how common Solar System-like architectures are—a question with implications for constraining formation models of stellar systems and for the number of Earth-like worlds in our stellar neighborhood.

Chaos Formation Models on Europa

A paper I wrote for an excellent planetary geology tutorial I took at Willams, taught by Prof. Rónadh Cox.

Introduction: Of all the planetary bodies in the solar system, Europa is among the most likely to ignite the imagination. Images of a landscape resembling the terrestrial arctic or Antarctic drove scientists to compare Europa's surface with ice features on Earth. These comparisons led investigators to theorize that the moon's surface overlies a liquid ocean. A significant unknown in studies of Europa is the thickness of the surface ice layer. The internal structure of the ice shell will have substantial effects on both the surface and subsurface environments. If the crust is thin, the possibility exists that Europa may have a biosphere including photosynthetic organisms. This exciting idea remains untestable, but analysis of surface features can illuminate constraints on the subsurface environment. In particular, proposed formation mechanisms of Europan chaos are predicated on differing assumptions about the crust thickness and composition. Analysis of these models may help establish restrictions on properties of the ice crust and underlying ocean.

Native American Battle Tactics

A paper from a college freshman history seminar on the interactions between Native Americans and colonial Europeans. The question of how the Europeans' technology supposedly gave them an "edge" over the native tribes, as well as my hometown's history from King Philip's War, got me interested in this topic, and I was surprised by some of the things I found.

Introduction: In northeastern North America, English colonists and explorers encountered a completely unfamiliar people. The Native Americans possessed different cultural values, different religious beliefs, different lifestyles, and different views and methods of warfare. The native lifestyle was highly suited to their natural environment, the forested terrain of what is now known as New England. This paper discusses the major differences between European and Native American warfare, the origins of native tactics as developed in northeastern forests, and adaptations of both cultures to the other’s tactics. Native American tactics were highly sophisticated and well suited to the environment of the northeastern forests, while the English were forced to react to native strategy in their colonial expansion. Even at the time of the American Revolution, Native American tactical practices remained largely unchanged (despite the encounter with a "technologically superior" opponent) while the English were forced to change and evolve.