David Armstrong (he/him)
I am an STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow working on exoplanet detection, characterization and populations with the TESS mission data. I also study the habitability of known exoplanets, mixing exoplanet and Earth observations to track greenhouse gases, and the classification of eclipsing binaries and variable stars in large-scale surveys.
One of my particular interests is in applying machine learning techniques to astrophysical problems. Recently this has included the automatic selection and validation of real candidates in transiting planet surveys, as well as creating fast detection and classification tools for eclipsing binaries and variable stars in the K2 survey. I work with the Computer Science department at Warwick to apply the latest machine learning techniques to problems in the exoplanet field.
I am an academic lead of Warwick's Habitability GRP, an initiative at Warwick aimed at promoting multi-disciplinary research in habitability, and am involved with the Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability. Our current projects include analyses of galactic habitability, dynamical and biological constraints on panspermia, and the stability of DNA in non-Earth environments. I am also the postgraduate admissions coordinator for the Astronomy and Astrophysics group.
Github page here, including tools for planet candidate vetting and transit shape analysis.
Publication list here, updated May 2022.
Teaching
IL907 Habitability in the Universe, a postgraduate interdisciplinary module, runs in Spring term. This is open to postgraduate students from any department, subject to department approval. Please see the module page.
PX282 Stars and the Solar System. I teach the Stars section of the module in Term 2. Please see the module page.
Data Tables
K2 Variable Catalogue II: catalogue website at MAST and CDS
Temperatures for Kepler Eclipsing Binary stars available at CDS
Write to:
David Armstrong,Office:
A1.21 (Millburn House)