Thomas Kupfer

Current group members

Alekzander Kosakowski (Postdoctoral Scholar)

I am a Postdoctoral Scholar at Texas Tech. My research focuses on the population of extremely low mass white dwarfs. I also study compact white dwarf binaries.






Gareth Ofenstein (Gradudate Student)

I am a Gradudate at Texas Tech. My research focuses on compact binary searches in the Galactic Plane. My research goal is to find and study compact hot subdwarf binaries which can be supernova Ia progenitors.





Corey Bradshaw (Graduate Student)

I am a Gradudate at Texas Tech. My research focuses on compact radial mode pulsators such as BLAPs or sdB pulsators. My research goal is to study the known population to understand their evolutionary history.





Kunal Deshmukh (Graduate Student)

I am a Gradudate at Texas Tech. My research focuses on timing measurement of compact hot subdwarf binaries to detect the orbital decay due to the radiation of graviational waves. I am an avid amateur astronomer, and my hobbies include playing soccer and exploring philosophy.



Will Yu (Graduate Student)

I am a Gradudate at Texas Tech. My research focuses on UV observations of ultracompact AMCVn systems observed with the Hubble Space telescoe. Besides sitting in front of a computer, I enjoy cycling, soccer, road trips, and occasionally spending a night under the dark sky with my telescope.





Eric Stringer (Graduate Student)

I am a Gradudate at Texas Tech. My research focuses on short period shot subdwarf binaries. My research goal is to find and study the most compact hot subdwarf binaries.






Megan Cuevas (Undergraduate Research Assistant)

Hello! I am in my last semester as an Astrophysics and Applied Mathematics double major at Texas Tech University. My research concentration is in Stellar Evolution, particularly red supergiants. I serve as the President and Historian of the Women in Physics organization at Texas Tech, where we are committed to the recruitment and retainment of women and minority groups in the Physics field. When I’m not working on research, academics, or organizational events, I fill my free time with frequent walks with my dog Nova, hiking, pc video games, and watching anime. After graduating with my undergraduate degree, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. program.


Juan Cano (Undergraduate Research Assistant)

I am an undergraduate student at Texas Tech. My research focuses on the observations of HW Vir binaries. My research goal is to measure precise system properties of a particularly short period HW Vir system.





Shelby Courreges (Undergraduate Research Assistant)

I am an undergraduate student at Texas Tech. My research focuses on infrared observations of ultracompact AMCVn binaries. My research goal is to detect the donor stars in the infrared and measure their properties






Alexandria Clark (Undergraduate Research Assistant)

I am an undergraduate student at Texas Tech. My research focuses on optical observations of compact hot subdwarf binary with a white dwarf companion. My research goal is to measure the properties of the system and put constraints on the evolutionary history and future of that particular system.