Hello traveler. My name is Alex Fitts, I recently got my PhD in astrophysics at The University of Texas at Austin and I'm currently based in Silver Spring, Maryland. My research aimed to further our understanding of dark matter by addressing the inconsistencies that arise between dark matter only simulations and observations of dwarf galaxies. I simulated dwarf galaxies in the field with a state-of-the-art hydrodynamical code to gain a better understanding of galaxy formation at the low mass end. These isolated, small galaxies also provided the perfect laboratory to study the early universe and gain insight into the specifics of reionization.
Previously, I received my Master's degree in astronomy from The University of Maryland, College Park, where I worked on time-varying signals in black hole accretion disk simulations. I was awarded my bachelor's in Physics from The University of Connecticut where I completed an undergraduate thesis by creating a spatial distribution computer model of a cometary atmosphere to study photo-desorption.
Given that my simulations have gone from lowly cometary atmospheres to simulating the majority of the universe, I've become more and more interested in ways to tease out meaningful information from large amounts of data. It only seemed natural that my curiosity would lead me to the world of data science and now this website serves as a foundation for all my thoughts and progress related to this pursuit. We'll see how it goes and I hope y'all can learn something along with me during this journey!