Welcome to my website
Keighley E. Rockcliffe
Adventure is out there
About Me (she/her)
I am a UMBC CRESST Postdoc working in NASA Goddard’s Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Lab with Dr. Allison Youngblood on exoplanet atmospheres. I miss the night sky and fresh air of New Hampshire, but I am excited to explore DC!
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I deeply care about people, which means I will advocate for accessibility and justice in every space I am in. One could argue most of my PhD was in advocacy within higher ed rather than astronomy research. This is a priority for me.
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I'm also always open to talk about fun and nerdy stuff (e.g., Star Wars, Marvel, anime, sci-fi & fantasy books, etc)! I love connecting with people!
Broad Research Interests
Atmospheric Escape
Atmospheric escape is an evolutionary mass loss process thought to shape the majority of exoplanets. It's pertinent to learn more about its small- and large-scale impacts.
Cool Star Spectra
~70% of the stars in the Milky Way are cool red dwarfs, which makes them important to study. Characterizing their radiative output helps us understand the environments that exoplanets live in.
Exoplanet Demographics
What is the landscape of the exoplanet population? Which planets are rare and which are common? How do we - on Earth - fit into the bigger picture? Are we alone or do we have company?
Current Projects
Video made by John McCann. (McCann+19)
Figure 5 from Rockcliffe+21
K2-25b
We searched for and could not observe atmospheric escape on K2-25b - a young, hot Neptune. We think the hydrogen mass loss is still happening, but the hydrogen is photoionized too quickly to be observed in transmission.
Figure 8 from Rockcliffe+23
AU Mic b
Similar to K2-25b, we looked for atmospheric escape on the infamous AU Mic b. Between two transits of the planet, we saw its mass loss go from completely unobservable to observable. This is rare and warrants further investigation! Listen to or read NASA’s press release on this work.
Modeling Atmospheric Escape
With Dr. Hans Müller, we aim to model escaping atmospheres. This will help our understanding of previously observed systems and inform our future observations.
Experience
Important Note: I have failed more than I have succeeded and that has made me a better scientist and, more importantly, a better person.
Education
B.S. in Physics
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Fall '13 - Spring ‘16
M.S. in Physics
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Fall '16 - Spring ‘17
M.S. in Astronomy
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Fall '17 - Spring ‘18
Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy
Dartmouth College
Fall '18 - Aug ‘24
Proposals (as PI)
HST Cycle 30, 14 orbits
HST Cycle 31, 20 orbits
Outreach
Some of my favorite experiences have come from the outreach and community work I’ve done!
Letters to a Pre-Scientist Pen-Pal (Fall '23 - Present)
Dept Grad Assembly Rep (June ‘23 - Aug ’24)
Dept GEnder Minorities in STEM Co-Organizer (Fall ‘23 - Spr ’24)
Astrobites Author & Social Manager (Jan ‘23 - Feb ‘24)
Dept DEI Grad Rep (Aug ‘20 - May ‘23)
AIP TEAM-UP Participant (2021 - May ‘23)
Grad Student Council President (May ‘21 - May ‘22)
Annual Montshire Museum Astronomy Day Volunteer (‘19 - ‘24)
Some Instagram reels I’ve made for @Astrobites!
Social Justice & Mental Health
BIPOC, women, and people of all mental and physical abilities BELONG in STEM!
Here are some ways I’ve advocated for this throughout graduate school at Dartmouth. I work hard to create positive change wherever I go!
Within Dartmouth
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- Helped develop a plan for more affordable housing and transportation.
- Successfully advocated for grad student stipend and financial aid increases.
- Advocated for trained grad student accessibility support.
- Helped reinstate a college Ombudsperson.
- Helped start a Wellness Coaching program.
- Worked with Guarini to institute CIMER power dynamics training for faculty.
- Organized and ran Mental Health Month.
- Created and distributed the Resource Guide.
Within DEpartment
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I've been working with faculty to create and institute action items that will improve climate and increase our support of BIPOC students. Our efforts are informed by the AIP TEAM-UP report and workshop(s). I'm advocating for and organizing a regular seminar on JEDI topics. We have facilitated several discussions regarding the existing climate we work in. I wrote an expectations document to clarify the advisor-advisee relationship and universally define appropriate boundaries between graduate student work and life. I continue to work with and push faculty to better the student experience.
Within research group
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Dr. Newton's research group regularly incorporates discussion of JEDI topics into our research group interactions. We confront that the fact that there are many intersecting social factors - race, gender, sexuality, religion, and more - that impact how an individual or a group moves through physics and astronomy. We listen to the voices and data shown by those who are oppressed within our field, and we recognize that we continue to grow into our role of making physics and astronomy accessible to and inclusive of everyone.
And here is my cat, Nova
NASA GSFC Office
Room E317, Building 34
Greenbelt, MD
keighley.e.rockcliffe@nasa.gov
Contact Info