Connor Pickett '17 on the Frontiers of Scientific Discovery

Since graduating from Marianapolis, alum Connor Pickett ’17 has been charting an impressive path in the field of science. He attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, and received a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy with a minor in Diplomatic and Military History. While at the university, he immersed himself in multiple physics outreach programs, including the Society of Physics Students, and was a member of the national physics honors society, Sigma Pi Sigma. He also engaged in astronomical research by analyzing the massive binary star system, Eta Carinae. Through this research, he identified a previously undetected feature in the system’s spectrum and published a first-author paper on his findings as an undergraduate.
 

After earning his undergraduate degree, Pickett began pursuing a PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Surrey in the UK. “My work here consists of analyzing the dark matter content of dwarf galaxies of the Andromeda galaxy,” he says. “This work, which has never been done at this scale, has begun revealing significant deviations from our previous understanding of dwarf galaxies and perhaps even dark matter itself.”
 

Pickett had the privilege of sharing his research at leading institutions and conferences, including the Royal Astronomical Society, the German Astronomical Society, Cardiff University, Durham University, and Dartmouth College. His work has also led to a close collaboration with researchers at MIT, where he regularly visits to discuss research and deepen investigations.
 

Pickett is eight months away from his PhD defense on his thesis, Mass Modeling the Andromeda Dwarf Galaxies. His second first-author publication, and first piece of his PhD thesis, has been published by Oxford University Press in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. It can be read here! Beyond research, he remains committed to public outreach and was recently honored with election as a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.
 

“If not for Marianapolis, I would have been ill-prepared for all I've accomplished so far,” shares Pickett. Our Conceptual Physics and Astronomy courses sparked his interest, and in turn, he developed a passion for studying both of these fields at the next level.
 

Pickett reflects on just how much of an impact Marianapolis has had on his success thus far: “A key part of my love for the field originated during the Monday night observations in the Astronomy class, where we'd venture to the fields outside the Main Building to set up telescopes to spend hours observing the cosmos. I am eternally grateful for the dedication to all forms of science at [MPrep], with each teacher instilling in me levels of dedication I maintain to this day.”
 

Congratulations on all of your accomplishments, Connor! Your Marianapolis family is proud of you, and we wish you the best of luck in your upcoming PhD defense!