Alison ThomasAstronomy and data projects
RésuméLinkedIn

Astronomy graduate · Based in New York

I use Python to work with astronomy data.

I’m Alison Thomas. I graduated from Stony Brook University in 2025 with a degree in Astronomy and Planetary Science. My recent projects use public TESS and SDSS data, and I’ve included the code, notebooks, and results here.

See my projects Résumé
PythonSQLscikit-learnData cleaningTechnical writing

I’m looking for an early-career role in scientific data, technical operations, or STEM education.

Conceptual editorial illustration of an exoplanet horizon, orbital paths, and signal points
On this site3 data projects + 2 papers
Most recentSDSS classifier · 0.927 macro F1See the project ↓
40TESS light curves analyzed
15,000objects in the SDSS dataset
3,000objects kept for final testing
0.927macro F1 on that test set

Projects

Recent astronomy data work

You can open the notebooks and saved outputs below. Each project also has a short limitations note.

Diagnostic figure with TESS coverage, period searches, and folded light curves for TOI-791Full diagnostic figure ↗

Independent analysis · TESS

01

Recovering TOI-791’s transit periods

I downloaded 40 two-minute SPOC light curves and built a Python workflow to clean, normalize, and detrend them. A broad Box Least Squares search recovered a peak near 139.31 days for TOI-791 b. After masking b, I checked a short list of publication-informed periods for c; about 232.01 days ranked highest across the two event windows I tested.

40light curves
139.31 db search peak
Notebook ↗Python source ↓Reference paper ↗

Known-signal exercise. The check for c used prior information, so I do not treat it as an independent period measurement.

Optical color diagram for SDSS stars, galaxies, and quasarsOptical color diagram ↗

Python + SQL · SDSS DR18

02

Classifying stars, galaxies, and quasars

I wrote the source queries for a balanced set of 15,000 spectroscopically labeled objects. The model used only four dereddened optical colors. I held out 3,000 rows before model development, compared a dummy model, logistic regression, and random forest with cross-validation, then evaluated the chosen model once on the test set.

15,000objects queried
0.927test macro F1
Results ↗Model card ↗Metrics ↗SQL sample ↓

The score describes this balanced, spectroscopically targeted sample—not expected performance on the full sky.

Skills in context

Where I used them

01

TESS and Kepler projects

Python and astronomical time-series analysis

I used Lightkurve to retrieve, clean, search, and phase-fold mission light curves. The notebooks and saved figures show how I reached each result.

Python · Lightkurve · Astropy · NumPy · Matplotlib
02

SDSS celestial classifier

SQL and supervised learning

I wrote the source queries and limited the model to four optical-color features. I left the test set alone until the model was selected.

SQL · pandas · scikit-learn · cross-validation
03

Published project artifacts

Project organization and testing

I keep notebooks, code, queries, saved metrics, and limitations next to the work so someone else can inspect what I did.

Jupyter · JSON/CSV · pytest · model cards · PDFs
04

Classroom experience

Communication and routine documentation

My classroom roles involved daily health and development logs, safety procedures, parent updates, and keeping a busy room on schedule.

Technical writing · data logging · public speaking

Selected academic work

Projects and papers from AST 390

These are the pieces from AST 390 that best show how I work with data and technical sources. Each card links to the original paper; the Kepler project also includes my cleaned notebook.

Kepler-8b phase-folded light curve showing the repeating transitPlot from my notebook · Kepler Quarter 4

Course project · Python + Lightkurve

Recovering Kepler-8b with Lightkurve

I used Kepler Quarter 4 data and a Box Least Squares periodogram to recover Kepler-8b’s known 3.523-day orbit. I phase-folded the light curve to check the repeating transit, then used the star’s oscillation spectrum to estimate its mass, radius, and surface gravity with Lightkurve’s scaling relations.

Read paper ↗Download notebook ↓
Reproduction exercise using a known system; no detailed model fitting or uncertainty analysis.
First page of Alison Thomas's Gravitational Lensing course paperPaper preview · 12 pages

Course paper · Scientific writing

Gravitational Lensing

I traced lensing from the basic lens equation and thin-screen approximation through microlensing and weak-lensing measurements, with examples in exoplanet detection and dark-matter mapping.

Read paper ↗
First page of Alison Thomas's Black Hole Information Paradox literature reviewPaper preview · 8 pages

Literature review · Theoretical physics

The Black Hole Information Paradox

I reviewed the conflict between black-hole evaporation and quantum information conservation, comparing the holographic principle, quantum hair, and firewall proposals.

Read paper ↗

Work experience

Work outside my astronomy projects

Most of my professional experience so far has been in early education. I also help with research for an early-stage venture.

Co-Founder

Confidential Venture

I help with product and market research for an early-stage infrastructure venture. The product details are private for now.

Infant Assistant Teacher

Skies the Limit Academy · Brookhaven National Laboratory environment

I kept daily health and development records for a classroom of up to eight children. I also followed the facility-access, sanitation, and federal safety procedures required in the Brookhaven National Laboratory environment.

Teacher’s Assistant

New Beginnings of Hauppauge

I helped with early science, math, and social-skills lessons, tracked each child’s progress, and spoke with parents at the end of the day.

Teacher’s Assistant

B.E.S.T. Learning Center

I supervised young children, helped resolve conflicts, prepared activities, and kept the classroom organized during transitions.

Education

B.S. Astronomy & Planetary Science

Stony Brook University · May 2025

Certifications and coursework

Google AI Professional CertificationJune 2026
Python for Data Science and AICoursera · Authorized by IBM · July 2026
Developing AI Applications with Python & FlaskIBM · July 2026

Contact

I’m looking for my next role.

I’m interested in early-career positions in scientific data, technical operations, or STEM education. I’m based in New York and open to on-site, hybrid, and remote teams.

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