Daisy S. Bissonette

I’m a Ph.D. candidate in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. Originally from Upstate New York, I completed my A.B. in Astrophysical Sciences with honors at Princeton in 2023.

I measure stellar metallicities in ultra-faint dwarf galaxies to study the earliest phases of galaxy formation and chemical enrichment. Most of my work centers on building analysis pipelines for low- and medium-resolution spectra: spectral fitting, statistical inference on small samples, and uncertainty quantification.

I also work on access to science education. I’ve served on a DEIB advisory board for PhET STEM education tools used by millions of students, hosted a virtual department open house for prospective PhD students at UChicago, tutored for over six years, and current focus on running public science events on Chicago’s South Side. The resources pages here collect what I’ve learned about fee waivers, funding, and applications.

Outside of research, I love to run, kayak, tend to my community garden plot, and work on my watercolor painting skills.