About Me

About Me:

Snooping around in the private lives of galaxies has been a desire of mine for as long as I've known that the universe was home to more than just the Milky Way. The pursuit of this passion was put on hold when at 15 I found myself needing to focus on a more immediate desire of escaping houselessness and putting a roof over my head. During this period of my life I had many adventures -- including playing in bands, pretending to be an artist, and falling in love.
My return to school was well timed. There have been many advances in our understanding of how galaxies form and evolve over the last several years. With these advances come new techniques which allow us to reconstruct what a galaxy has been up to with nothing but the light we observe. It's beyond thrilling to get to contribute to this body of work.
My specialization lies in looking at the environmental dependence of star formation in galaxies based on their star formation histories. I'm particularly interested in the temporal and spatial relationship of star formation within galaxies in spatially resolved observations, as well as between galaxies that are in groups or pairs.

Education:

2023 -- Rutgers University -- Ph.D. Physics and Astronomy
2020 -- Rutgers University -- M.S. Physics and Astronomy
2017 -- Cal Poly Humboldy -- B.S. Physics, Math Minor
2014 -- College of the Redwoods -- A.A. in Science

Publications: ORC ID

Research

images/Showstopper_v7.png

My research traces how galaxies build up their stellar mass over time, and how much of that story is written by their surrounding environment. Most of this work centers on reconstructing star formation histories (SFHs) — timelines of when and how fast a galaxy formed its stars — and using them as a clock for reading galaxy evolution.

Validating the method. My first paper (Olsen et al. 2021, ApJ) compared two independent ways of reconstructing SFHs — color-magnitude diagrams and spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting — using Local Volume dwarf galaxies close enough to resolve individual stars. The two methods agreed well, and in the process we discovered something unexpected: galaxies separated by great distances showed synchronized bursts and dips in star formation at the same cosmic epochs.

Environment and conformity. The follow-up (Olsen & Gawiser 2023, ApJ) asked whether that synchronized star formation was linked to galactic conformity — the tendency of galaxies near a common center to share similar properties. We found conformity in a different subset of galaxies than the ones showing synchronization, suggesting the two phenomena trace different physical drivers, and that the conformity signal itself depends on the geometry of the volume being studied.

Going spatially resolved. Using UVCANDELS imaging, I extended this approach from whole galaxies to regions within galaxies, reconstructing spatially resolved SFHs to search for the earliest internal signs of quenching and to track how the resolved star-formation–stellar-mass relation evolves over the past several billion years (Olsen et al., ApJ 2026).

Testing the reliability of resolved SFHs. My newest paper, “Beyond the Blur: Radial Binning Trumps Stellar Migration in Resolved Star Formation Histories” (submitted to ApJ, October 2026), uses simulations to ask a hard question about that method: how much does stellar migration blur or bias a resolved SFH? The result is reassuring — radial profiles built from past SFHs hold up well and remain a trustworthy probe, even accounting for stars moving around within a galaxy over time.

Cosmic web and structure. Alongside this, I’ve contributed to work connecting galaxy evolution to large-scale structure — including mock lightcone catalogs built for the CANDELS survey (Somerville et al. 2021), a study of how low mass galaxy SFHs are affected by nearby cosmic filaments in the New Horizon simulation, and a 2026 study showing how gas streams in the cosmic web shape planes of satellite galaxies (“Zippers and Twisters”).

Looking ahead to LSST. All of this — dwarf galaxies, environment, resolved SFHs — is aimed at the Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), which will let us trace how the smallest, faintest galaxies grow in step with the cosmic web around them, at a scale no survey has offered before.

Beyond the Blur: Radial Binning Trumps Stellar Migration in Resolved Star Formation Histories

Submitted to ApJ, October 2026

Using simulations, this paper quantifies how much stellar migration biases spatially resolved star formation histories — and finds that radial profiles built from past SFHs remain reliable and trustworthy despite that mixing.

Searching Within Galaxies for the Earliest Signs of Quenching

The Astrophysical Journal, 2026 · arXiv:2511.02828

Using spatially resolved star formation histories in UVCANDELS, this paper searches within galaxies for the earliest signatures of quenching — tracing where and when star formation shuts down at the sub-galactic scale.

Zippers and Twisters: Planes of Satellite Galaxies

2026, co-author

Contributing to work showing how whirling and shocking gas streams in the cosmic web shape planes of satellite galaxies.

Teaching

Adjunct Assistant Professor, New York City College of Technology (CUNY) (2024–present)

Physics 1000 – Physics of the Universe (2025–present)
General physics for non-majors. Full course design, lectures, and instruction.

Physics 1117L – Astronomy Lab (2025)
Lab for majors and non-majors.

Physics 1433L – Introductory Mechanics Lab (2024–2025)
Algebra-based.

Physics 1441 – Introductory Mechanics Lab (Spring & Fall 2026)
Calculus-based.

Graduate Teaching, Rutgers University (2018–2020)

TA and lab instructor roles across intro mechanics labs, RU-PREP, and upper-level grading; DELTA-P (Physics Education) and SIGMA-P (Physics Mentoring) certificates of training.

Recognition

Awards:

Robert A. Schommer Prize, The Robert A. Schommer Prize is awarded to the one student who, in the collective judgment of the astrophysics faculty in the Department, has published the best first-author, refereed journal article in the field of astrophysics in the past two years

Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Awards, AAS 238, The Astronomy Achievement Student Awards are given to recognize exemplary research by undergraduate and graduate students who present at one of the poster sessions at the meetings of the AAS,

Rutgers Graduate Student Association Award for Excellence in Graduate Service, Recognizes a Rutgers University graduate student who demonstrates a tireless track record of service. Those honored have shown a selfless commitment to the betterment of their cohort, fellow graduate students, and/or the community as a whole, improving the livelihood of others while encouraging an environment of inclusivity and growth,

Cal Poly Humboldt Physics and Astronomy Department Award for Outstanding Service to the Physics & Astronomy Community, Inaugural award given to the graduating student that according to the department demonstrated exceptional leadership and mentorship..

John Mather Nobel Scholar, The John Mather Nobel Scholarship Program awards travel allowances towards the cost of presenting research papers at professional conferences. Applicants must have demonstrated high academic achievement, and be currently holding a Goddard-based research internship

Comap MCM Math Modeling Competition, Honorable Mention, COMAP Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) challenges teams of students to clarify, analyze, and propose solutions to open-ended problems. The contest attracts diverse students and faculty advisors from over 900 institutions around the world.

Grants and Fellowships:

LSST DA Catalyst Fellowship (2023–2026) The Catalyst Fellowship is a four year prize postdoctoral fellowship thatworks towards making Rubin LSST science globally and equitably accessible to fulfill Rubin’s twin promises of breaking scientific barriers and furthering human knowledge. Within this context, the LSSTC Catalyst Fellowship Program seeks early-career researchers who aspire not only to conduct their own cutting-edge scientific research, but also to contribute to the program’s lasting legacy by building networks, learning and sharing skills, and cultivating practices that enable science with big data.

Noemie Koller Endowed Graduate Scholarship, The Noemie Koller Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Physics and Astronomy has been established with a gift from Prof. Koller. This gift was made based on her appreciation of the importance of financial assistance in attracting the best graduate students. The intent is to assist individual students and the department as a whole.

AAS FAMOUS Travel Grant, The FAMOUS (Funds for Astronomical Meetings: Outreach to Underrepresented Scientists) Travel Grants Program awards money to attend an AAS meeting.

Henry C. Torrey Fellowship, The Torrey award is awarded by the Physics & Astronomy department to the most outstanding entering graduate students..

Rutgers Excellence Fellowship for doctoral study in Physics and Astronomy, The Rutgers Excellence Fellowship is awarded by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) to outstanding students entering doctoral study at Rutgers .

Mentoring

Research Mentees

Ena Chia (2024–) — using resolved SFHs to constrain stellar migration and mixing in Milky Way–type galaxies
Samiya Shamsur (2024–) — connecting morphology to environment in LSST
Sarah Draves (2024–) — finding filaments in LSST data (co-mentored with Charlotte Welker)
Manuel Ramirez (2023–2025) — investigating dwarf-hosting cosmic filaments (co-mentored with Charlotte Welker)

Career & Peer Mentoring

Career mentor, CUNY MS program (Thyra Eysselinck)
Grad peer mentor since 2017 — six junior grad students mentored
Helped run CCA/AMNH mentor training (2025) for mentors of summer students from CCA, AMNH, Columbia, and CUNY
Rutgers Physics and Astronomy Near-Peer Mentorship Program mentor (2019–2022)

Interactive Student Research Plot

Outreach, Media, & Public Engagement

Media Engagement

“How researchers navigate a PhD later in life” — Nature, June 2024. Interviewed for this piece.

“How Scientifically Accurate Is ‘Project Hail Mary’?” — The New York Times, April 2026. Interviewed for an arts-section piece on the film’s scientific accuracy.

“Black Holes Colliding, with Dr. Charlotte Olsen” — The Liuniverse Podcast, November 2025. Interview about her research and a discussion of black holes.

Astronomy on Tap NYC, June 2025 — “Is Space Gay? And the Need for Gay Spaces,” public talk for Pride month.

The Astro Show (Wyoming Stargazing), August 2022 — Guest speaker segment.

Assigned Scientist at Bachelors (ASAB) Podcast, January 2022 — Special guest episode on career path, identity, and science.

The Tundra: Beyond Space video podcast, June 2021 — Special guest.

Astrobites, July 2021 — “Queer Astronomy,” Pt. 1 & 2.

Press release: “36 Dwarf Galaxies Had Simultaneous ‘Baby Boom’ of New Stars”, May 2021 — picked up by Sky & Telescope, translated into multiple languages.

Telescope night at the Clarence Dillon Public Library, November 2022 — taught families to use the library’s new telescope.

Community Engagement

Outreach, professional service, and teaching are as necessary to being an astronomer as research, and this work is arguably much more important. I think it crucial that our legacies as scientists be measured more by those we bring into the field than our h-index or publication counts. As a member of the queer community and a nonbinary scientist, my positionality within my discipline has often informed my decisions with regards to mentoring, outreach, service, and pedagogy. This is an area I'm particularly eager to keep developing.

AAS SGMA Committee Member, The AAS Committee for Sexual-Orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy (SGMA) works to promote equality for sexual-orientation and gender minorities (SGMs) within our profession, including those identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning or queer, or asexual. SGMA works to end hiring and workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression; eliminate the inequalities in compensation experienced by SGMs; create a professional climate that respects and values diversity; serve as a conduit for communication between the AAS Council and the SGM community; support networking and peer mentoring among SGMs; and provide resources to support SGM equality within the astronomical profession.

Graduate Studies and Life Committee Member, The GSLC is a departmental committee made of the Graduate Program Director, and two graduate students. Its purpose is to supervise the operation of the graduate program, including advising graduate students, considering complaints, problems, and suggestions, recommending changes in the program, and recommending changes in the status of individual students.

Graduate Co-Chair of Rutgers University Women in Physics and Astronomy group (RUWIPA), Organized weekly meetings and meeting topics.

Graduate Co-Chair of Rutgers University Minorities in Physics and Astronomy group (RUMIPA), Following in the footsteps of RU-WIPA, RU-MIPA was created to replace RU-MIPA and be more inclusive of all people who are underrepresented in physics.

Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Organization Co-President, Implemented a Near-Peer mentorship program where each incoming student is paired with a more advanced graduate student to help them navigate everything from housing to exam stress. Helped to establish an orientation. Held events to create an atmosphere of community care.

Member of the Rutgers Graduate Student Association Mental Health Committee, Addressed mental health struggles for grad students across all disciplines through events, outreach, and awareness campaigns.

Rutgers PreDoctoral Leadership Development Academy Fellow, The PreDoctoral Leadership Development Academy (PLDA), is a one year program designed to provide doctoral students from a broad array of academic disciplines with the supplemental knowledge and skills needed for academic and administrative leadership roles. PLDA Fellows have an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges confronting higher education, foster engagement with university strategy, enhance their leadership competencies, and strengthen their network of colleagues, https://ol.rutgers.edu/programs/plda/.

Graduate Student Physics Department Union Representative, Grad student representative for the AAUP-AFT for Rutgers. This position requires participation in the contract bargaining process, as well as communicating union business to the other graduate students in the department. Most importantly, my role allows for me to communicate the needs of the Physics & Astronomy graduate students to our union.

Outreach to New Brunswick Magnet Health Sciences High School, Co-organized monthly engagements with high school physics classes where we use physics demos to create experiential learning opportunities tuned to the curriculum.

Outreach to New Brunswick Middle School through Nature thru Nurture (NtN) After School Program, Brought physics demos relating to current physics curriculum for students in the program.

Outreach to Continuation and Community Schools, Visited local continuation and community schools to show by example that students in alternative High Schools can still be academically successful.

Organizer for the Astronomy group weekly Journal Club, Found and arranged for graduate student hosts, paper presentations, and research talks for both faculty and students as well as facilitating lively discussion about the latest papers in the field.