Dr Emily Sandford

  • College positions:
    Research Fellow
  • Subjects:

Degrees

BSc, Physics (Yale University); MA, MPhil, PhD, Astronomy (Columbia University).

 

Research interests

I study exoplanets and the stars they orbit. I am particularly interested in how and why stars dim and brighten, and in the challenge of seeing tiny planetary signals against the backdrop of this stellar fluctuation. I am also interested in exoplanet populations and the arrangement of exoplanets in planetary systems.

 

Teaching interests

Previously I have taught astrostatistics and scientific programming. I am interested more broadly in mathematical methods for physics and in ways to incorporate chaos theory into the undergraduate physics curriculum.

 

Awards and prizes

Columbia University President's Global Innovation Fund Grant, for study in Santiago, Chile (2018)

Columbia University Dean’s Fellowship (2014-2020)

Honourable Mention, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2016)

 

Publications

A full list can be found here.

E. Sandford, D. Kipping, & M. Collins. “The Multiplicity Distribution of Kepler’s Exoplanets.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS), 2019, 489, 3162.

E. Sandford, N. Espinoza, R. Brahm, & A. Jordán. “Estimation of Singly-Transiting K2 Planet Periods with Gaia Parallaxes.” MNRAS, 2019, 489, 3149.

Z. Penoyre & E. Sandford. “Higher Order Harmonics in the Light Curves of Eccentric Planetary Systems.” MNRAS, 2019, 488, 4181.

E. Sandford & D. Kipping. “Shadow Imaging of Transiting Objects.” Astronomical Journal (AJ), 2019, 157, 42.

E. Sandford & D. Kipping. “Know the Planet, Know the Star: Precise Stellar Densities from Kepler Transit Light Curves.” AJ, 2017, 154, 288.]

E. Sandford, A. H. W. Küpper, K. V. Johnston, & J. Diemand. “Quantifying Tidal Stream Disruption in a Simulated Milky Way.” MNRAS, 2017, 470, 522.

D. Kipping & E. Sandford. “Observational Biases of Transiting Planets.” MNRAS, 2016, 463, 1323.

 

Other interests

Birdwatching, animal cognition, weird fiction, running