Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy and Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics
I am studying the physics of the big bang. We construct telescopes that image the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, which is a relic remnant from the big bang. Properties of the CMB, specifically its polarization pattern, carry information about physical process that took place during the bang. In our data analysis we convert a two-dimensional image of the sky to a one-dimensional spatial power spectrum and compare this power spectrum to theoretical models.