Mentoring has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career, and I feel fortunate to have worked with some exceptionally talented students over the years. I often say that I’ve never had a student who wasn’t a better scientist than myself, and I’m genuinely only ~15% joking.
On this page you’ll find brief bios of the students I’ve directly supervised. Just as an observation of a planetary system represents but a fleeting snapshot of billions of years worth of evolution, the specific bios on this page are a but a relic of what are sure to be long and fruitful careers. When appropriate, I have gone through and annotated subsequent accomplishments in italics.
Haedam Im
Haedam Im is a junior at MIT majoring in physics, originally from South Korea. She is interested in exoplanets, both planetary dynamics and observational detections. Outside of astronomy, she enjoys stargazing, exploring nature, and playing board games.
Relevant Papers:
Simone Lilavois
Simone Lilavois is an undergraduate physics student at Amherst College. Her research investigates how giant planets affect the dynamical evolution of inner planetary systems. She also works on orbit-fitting to constrain the architectures of binary star systems within 20 pc. Outside of academics, Simone is a competitive swimmer, loves science fiction, and travels as much as she can. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in astrophysics and a career in academia.
Yurou (Nina) Liu
Yurou (Nina) Liu is senior undergraduate at Yale University studying Physics (Intensive) and Computer Science, with a focus on exoplanetary science. She is researching exoplanet dynamics and substellar atmospheres. Beyond astrophysics research, she has designed her computer science major around computer graphics and vision.
Tiger note: Nina's paper was featured in Yale Daily News! Check out the article here: New study offers a double dose of 'hot Jupiters'.
Tiger note: Nina is, as of Fall 2026, a Ph.D. Student at Princeton University!!!
Relevant Papers:
Vighnesh Nagpal
Vighnesh Nagpal is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Chicago. He obtained his Bachelor's degrees in Physics & Astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2024. He is broadly interested in exoplanet atmospheres, dynamics, and understanding how Galactic-scale effects influence the Milky Way's exoplanet population.
Haniyeh Tajer
I'm a graduate student at the Ohio State University and an LSST data science fellow. I work on a broad range of topics: in exoplanets, I do N-body simulations of late-stage planet formation. Currently, I am mostly interested in galactic chemical evolution and dynamics. I am also working on data-driven models to transfer stellar labels between surveys. When I'm not doing research, I enjoy running, climbing, and hiking!
Relevant Papers:
Eritas Yang
Eritas Yang is a second-year graduate student in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University, where she studies how planetary systems move and evolve. Her research centers on planetary dynamics — in particular, the question of what keeps compact multi-planet systems stable rather than tearing themselves apart. Before Princeton, she was a physics major at Harvey Mudd College, and her work has earned her the American Physical Society LeRoy Apker Award and Princeton's Centennial Fellowship. Off the clock, she's usually hiking or in search of good boba.
Tiger note: this bio was generated with, at the request of and with explicit permission from Eritas, Claude AI.
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