Aylin García Soto

About Me

Hi! My name is Aylin García Soto, I was born in Dominican Republic but have been a citizen in the US since 2007, so I'm fluent in both Spanish and English.

Also, recently learned about Canva's magic edit feature so here's me in different clothes

Logistics

• I am a fourth year graduate student at Dartmouth College. I am both a research assistant and teaching assitant and have won two awards on TA'ing and received an honorable mention for the NSF GFRP.
• I've fist-authored two papers and am currently writing a third (planned for a fourth and maybe...fifth?).
• With every research experience I've had, I've either operated a telescope or worked for one (i.e. MIT/TESS - Pictured below).
• Pop Quiz: What are the streaks?

The Fun Side

• Yes my first name is of Turkish origin but I'm not Turkish (BUT I am learning Turkish so yay! Plus, attempting to learn the other Latin languages)
• I was in jazz band all through high school and so I love playing the guitar.
• I love every genre of everything except heavy metal music (sorry friends), but I love sci-fi media like Three Body Problem (show, currently reading the books!)
• I am proficient in photoshop, so if you need me to photoshop something whether funny or scientific, contact me.
  Exhibit A: Steph and Katie at MDM Exhibit B: I made the background of this website!
• I don't have pets but I have sat for both cats and dogs (and beta fish).
• I learned how to drive in graduate school so beware (no I'm just kidding, I passed...the second time)
• I recently have taken up painting for fun (well... "fun" is arguable, since I have zero patience in waiting for it to dry).

Research

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Current

Recently, under Prof. Elisabeth Newton, I conducted a survey on 30 M dwarfs previously identified as fast rotating stars (Rotational Period < 10 days) to examine their magnetism. Using time-series optical photometry from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and contemporaneous optical spectra obtained using the Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (OSMOS) on the 2.4m Hiltner telescope at MDM Observatory in Arizona, I measured rotation periods and photometric amplitudes from TESS light curves using Gaussian Processes. My findings suggest a weak positive correlation between H alpha luminosity and the semi-amplitude, Rvar. I also observed short-term variability (between 20-45 minutes) in H alpha equivalent widths and possible enhancement from flares consistent with recent literature. I presented these results at the 21st Cambridge workshoop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun and published my second, first-author paper in The Astronomical Journal (NASA ADS) and PDF viewer

Currently, I'm reducing and analyzing more H alpha Short-Term variability data.

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Previous

I participated in two funded research programs during undergraduate summers where I used telescopes including the Hopkins 0.6m telescope at Williams College, Clay 9-inch reflector telescope at Harvard, and Apache Point Observatory 20" telescope in New Mexico. With Dr. Steven Souza at Williams College, I searched for Be stars by measuring excess emission at H alpha using AstroImageJ to remove inaccurate magnitude measurements. With Dr., now Professor at Michigan State, Joseph Rodriguez at Harvard, I conducted optical follow-up observations of 5 eclipsing binaries and found the timing of one eclipse to be off by three hours, suggesting a perturbing third-body. These experiences provided me with skills in astronomical data analysis, python, and a strong foundation for future research projects. Results were presented at American Astronomical Society conferences.

After my REUs, I worked with Prof. Edward Moran for my undergraduate thesis, for which I received honors. We searched for "Changing-look AGNs" (CLAGNs) using X-ray data from the Einstein and ROSAT missions in order to help determine the accretion duty cycle. We identified 10 AGNs, confirming one Seyfert 2 galaxy as a potential CLAGN. I developed skills in working with X-ray data, writing my own code, and presenting my results.

I then conducted a funded summer research project with Prof. William Herbst studying V 582 Mon, a young T Tauri binary system with a precessing and warped circumbinary ring. Using data from the SMARTS/ANDICAM instrument and python, I created phase-folded light curves, color-magnitude diagrams, and extinction curves, and found that star B may be spotted and that the trailing edge of the ring is clumpier in the optical and more transparent in the infrared than the leading edge. I presented these findings at the AAS conference and published my first, first-author paper on The Astronomical Journal, further strengthening my skills in coding and science writing (NASA ADS). PDF viewer

Outreach

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Science outreach and STEM mentoring have been integral parts of my academic journey. As a student at Wesleyan, I created the first English Wikipedia page for KH 15D ahead of my first author paper. I was also deeply involved in science outreach through various programs, including the Wesleyan Science Outreach (WSO) program. I co-lead a WSO teaching class where we taught other undergraduates effective pedadogy skills and how to create hands-on activities. Our "final exam" was in the form of organizing science day for 40 familes in the community. In addition, I managed the activities and volunteers for events such as Science Night and Kids' Space Nights, where we provided opportunities for members of the community, including young children, to learn about astronomy and scientific research. WSO is a program that introduces children to general science, while Kids' Space Nights focuses solely on Astronomy activities and public observing. Science Night, on the other hand, is for older members of the community and involves presenting research talks and running the telescope.

After college, I continued to pursue my passion for outreach by volunteering at the Museum of Science in Boston's Women and Girls in STEM event, volunteering for Public Observing Night, the Montshire Science Museum Astronomy day, and joining the Dartmouth ManyMentors program. ManyMentors was similar to WSO in that it aims to provide STEM opportunities to underrepresented middle and high school students. Although the program was later disbanded due to policy changes, I am continued taking on leadership roles in Public Observing and the Montshire Musem. The Montshire Astronomy Day, is a day where the astronomers at Dartmouth College volunteer at the museum for the day taking on hands-on activities and presentations. While Public Observing is currently molding to look something similar like Space Night and WSO's Science Day at Wesleyan.

I was also a representative for the Physics and Astronomy department in the Graduate Student Council (GSC), in which I help organize events for Mental Health such as Monday Paint Nights and a larger Workshop on how Mental Health disscusions are taboo in underrepresented communities. This involved multiple psychologists and therapists at Dartmouth. My last year in GSC, I was a co-chair of the Committee for Addressing Racism and Equity in which I managed events for underepresented students and ran the instagram.

Lastly, I have been a graduate student panelist for multiple graduate inquiry workshops, including twice for the W+OCP Graduate School 101 Workshop, in 2019 and 2020.

Elements

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';