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Lori Porter

Aspiring Astrophysicist

Columbia University

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Columbia University
Ph.D. in Astrophysics | August 2023 - present
University of Louisville
B.S. in Physics | Minor in Applied Statistics & Data Science | May 2023
  • Fellow with the James Graham Brown Foundation's Brown Fellows Program
  • President of the Society of Physics Students
  • Member of Sigma Pi Sigma - Physics Honors Society
  • Member of the Mortar Board's Pallas Chapter - Senior Honors Society
  • University of Louisville Honors Scholar
  • Member of the American Astronomical Society
  • Member of the Society for Women In Physics and Astronomy
  • Member of the Kentucky Area Astronomical Society
  • Student Researcher
Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics
High School Diploma | May 2019
Jay Matthews Public Elite List School
  • Vice President of Service for Alpha Phi Omega
  • Craft Academy Ambassador
  • Member of the Morehead State University's football media crew
  • Member of the Craft Academy's Science Olympiad team
  • Member of the Kentucky Area Astronomical Society
  • Student Researcher
Picture of Lori Porter and a radio telescope
Tianjin Normal University
Study Abroad | May-June 2018

Focused on spoken Mandarin, Chinese history, and Chinese culture

Experience

Guest Researcher/Summer Intern | Center for Computational Astrophysics | May-August 2022

Conducted research on FIRE-3 galaxies, supervised by postdoc Dr. Matthew Orr and associate research scientist Dr. Blakesley Burkhart.

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant | University of Louisville | January 2022 - January 2023

Undergraduate teaching assistant for introductory astronomy lab (Spring 2022) and differential equations (Fall 2022) as part of the NSF-funded Partnership for Retention Improvement in Mathematics, Engineering, and Science (PRIMES) at the University of Louisville.

Guest Researcher/Summer Intern | Center for Computational Astrophysics | May-August 2021

Conducted research on metallicity relations in FIRE-2 dwarf galaxies, supervised by postdoc Dr. Matthew Orr and associate research scientist Dr. Blakesley Burkhart.

Student Researcher | University of Louisville | October 2019 - May 2023

Undergraduate student researcher studying void galaxy morphology using GAMA and GalaxyZoo under the supervision of associate professor Dr. Benne Holwerda.

Student Assistant | Ekstrom Library | June 2019 - September 2021

Student assistant working part-time in the University of Louisville's Stacks Maintenance department. Responsibilities include patron assistance, book shelving, inventory management, and InterLibrary Loan Retrievals.

Publications

First Author

Porter, L.E., Holwerda, Benne W., Kruk, Sandor et al. (2023) The loneliest galaxies in the Universe: a GAMA and Galaxy Zoo study on void galaxy morphology MNRAS. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/link_gateway/2023MNRAS.524.5768P/doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1125

Porter, L.E., Orr, M.E., Burkhart, B., et al. (2022) Spatially Resolved Gas-phase Metallicity in FIRE-2 Dwarfs: Late-Time Evolution of Metallicity Relations in Simulations with Feedback and Mergers. MNRAS. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1958

N-th Author

Henry, C., Holwerda, B., Decleir, M., et al. (in prep). The vertical profile of edge-on spiral galaxies in ultraviolet.

Smith, D., Haberzettl, L, Holwerda, B., et al. (2022). Galaxy and Mass Assembly: Galaxy Morphology in the Green Valley, Prominent Rings and Tighter Spiral Arms. Accepted 28 July 2022.

Porter-Temple, R., Holwerda, B.W., Hopkins, A., Porter, L., et al. (2022). Galaxy And Mass Assembly: Galaxy Zoo spiral arms and star formation rates. MNRAS. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1936

Holwerda, B.W., Smith, D., Porter, L., et al. (2022). Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): Self-Organizing Map Classification of Nearby Galaxies. MNRAS. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac889

D. Onić, M. D. Filipović, I. Bojičić, et al. (2019). Murchison Widefield Array and XMM-Newton observations of the Galactic supernova remnant G5.9+3.1. A&A, 625 A93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201834230

Presentations

Talks

Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium | October 2022 |

Kentucky Area Astronomical Society | April 2022 | recording here, starting at 52:45

Brown Fellows Symposium | October 2021

Kentucky Area Astronomical Society | April 2021 (virtual)

Celebration for Student Scholarship | May 2019

Posters

240th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society | June 2022 | Chambliss Winner! | iPoster

SPS Zone 8 Meeting (general non-scientific audience) | March 2022 | Poster

Kentucky Area Astronomical Society | March 2020 | Poster

Kentucky Area Astronomical Society | April 2019 | Poster

Posters at the Capitol | February 2019

Kentucky Academy of Science | November 2018

Grants, Honors, & Awards

  • National Center for Women in Tech (NCWiT) Collegiate Award Finalist
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)
  • Hertz Fellowship Semifinalist
  • Honorable Mention Presentation - Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium
  • National Society of Physics Students Travel Award
  • Nominated for Best Undergraduate Thesis in the Natural Sciences
  • Bullitt Best Paper in Astronomy
  • Dean's Travel Award - Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium
  • NASA KY EPSCoR REU Space Grant
  • Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award
  • National Society of Physics Students Travel Award
  • Barry Goldwater Scholar
  • AAS FAMOUS Grant Awardee
  • Craft Academy's Outstanding Alumni Award
  • University of Louisville Brown Fellow
  • University of Louisville Dean's Scholar/List
  • University of Louisville Honors Scholar
  • University of Louisville Honors Program
  • University of Louisville Trustee's Scholarship
  • Harold L. Adams Memorial Scholarship
  • Craft Academy's Most Promising Researcher Award
  • Craft Academy Student Graduation Speaker
  • President's Volunteer Service Award - Bronze
  • Guest Speaker for the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education

Service and Leadership

  • Representative, Brown Fellows Selection Committee (Class of 2027)
  • Organizer, 2022 Bullitt Lecture in Astronomy
  • President, 2022-2023 Society of Physics Students
  • Co-organizer, 2022 James Webb Space Telescope Outreach Event
  • Co-organizer, 2021 Bullitt Lecture in Astronomy
  • Organizer, 2022 Zone 8 Society of Physics Students Meeting
  • Communications Officer, 2021-2022 Society of Physics Students
  • Volunteer, 2021 Mortar Board Senior Honors Society
  • Co-organizer, 2020 Meeting of the Kentucky Area Astronomical Society
  • Speaker, 2019 Craft Academy Commencement
  • Speaker, 2019 Kentucky Association for Gifted Education
  • Vice President of Service, 2019 Alpha Phi Omega

Professional Affilations and Extracurriculars

  • Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honors Society
  • Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Honors Society
  • American Physical Society
  • American Astronomical Society
  • Mortar Board Senior Honors Society
  • Society for Women in Physics and Astronomy
  • Society of Physics Students
  • Kentucky Area Astronomical Society