Sophia Flury

My research interests focus primarily on the use of spectroscopy to investigate the relationship between a galaxy's ISM and energetic phenomena such as young stellar populations and AGN. I use rest-frame UV and optical spectroscopy from JWST, HST, the SDSS, and other facilities to study line-emitting gas in local (z<0.5) galaxies. Much of my analysis incorporates nebular diagnostics, photoionization models, and stellar population synthesis to infer fundamental properties of the ISM, stars, ionizing radiation, and ionized gas kinematics in other galaxies.

Currently, I work on a variety of projects led by faculty at multiple institutions. With Anne Jaskot (Williams College), I am using a combination of UV spectroscopy with HST/COS (the LzLCS, GO 15626) and optical spectroscopy with SDSS to investigate the production and escape of ionizing photons in z~0.3 dwarf star-forming galaxies. With Oli Dors, Jr, (UNIVAP), I am using optical spectroscopy to investigate the temperature structure and chemical composition of ionized gas in AGN. With Ed Moran (Wesleyan University), I am using IFU, SDSS, and long-slit spectroscopy to investigate the relationships between AGN, star formation, and their host galaxies. In a different vein, I work with fellow grad student Sandra Bustamante (UMass) using Gaia, 2MASS, Kepler, and TESS photometry to develop novel diagnostics of the dynamos and structure of low mass (< 1 Msun) stars.

Check out my ADS publication list to learn more!