Hello! I'm currently a postdoctoral fellow studying small body astronomy at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. I investigate the behavior and evolution of comets, asteroids, and related objects roaming the solar system to evaluate our place in the universe.
Academic History
- 2023–present: Lowell Observatory
- Percival Lowell Postdoctoral Fellow
- 2017–2023: California Institute of Technology
- Planetary Science, Ph.D. (2024)
- Planetary Science, M.S. (2019)
- 2013–2017: University of California, Santa Barbara
- Physics, B.S. (2017)
Recent Highlights
2026 Feb 6: Zhang et al. (2026a) (arXiv:2601.00060) shows that minor planet (139359) 2001 ME1 is actually a comet active only near perihelion. Its passage almost directly in front of the Sun brightened it by ~7 magnitudes.
2026 Jan 30: Zhang & Battams (2026) (arXiv:2510.25035) details observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS by several heliophysics spacecraft while the comet rapidly brightened as it neared the Sun.