My name is Megan Tannock (pronounced Tan-ick; she/her) and I recently completed my PhD in astrophysics at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. I was born and raised on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada and I obtained my BSc in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Victoria in 2015. During my BSc I spent time living on the Big Island of Hawaii, USA, while working at Gemini Observatory and the Canada France Hawaii Telescope.

 

My PhD thesis is focused on understanding the atmospheres of sub-stellar objects known as brown dwarfs. Not quite large enough to be a star, yet too massive to be a planet, these cool objects have both clouds and weather that can change on timescales of just a few hours. I use a technique called photometry to measure changes in brightness of these objects over time to determine how their weather is changing, and I use a technique called spectroscopy to study the chemical and molecular makeup of their atmospheres. My other astronomy interests include extrasolar planets and telescope instrumentation.

 

Since 2012 I have led 11 successful telescope proposals as the principal investigator and have obtained over 150 hours of observations on world-class telescopes including Gemini Observatory (North and South), the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, and the Canada France Hawaii Telescope. I have also been a co-investigator on successful telescope proposals for additional facilities including the Spitzer Space Telescope and McDonald Observatory. I have extensive observing, data reduction, and analysis experience with all of these facilities.

 

In my free time I enjoy baking, indoor and outdoor rock climbing, hiking and camping, and spending time with my partner and our dog Dino.