Delondrae Carter

Delondrae attended Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, MD, where he graduated as Valedictorian before heading to Arizona to continue his education at Arizona State University (ASU). He is an astrophysics PhD student with a passion for science communication. He wants to captivate listeners and spark the astrophysical curiosities of the next generation of budding scientists—to foster the growth of the scientific community by impassioning others with topics he’s passionate about. 

    Through a Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) internship during the summer of 2019, Delondrae gained experience using Python in conjunction with Linux to organize, process, and analyze large collections of Hubble Space Telescope data by working on a project focused on studying the thickness and dark matter distribution of the Milky Way’s disk through the lens of brown dwarfs. He applied the skills he developed there as an undergraduate research assistant on the Hubble Space Telescope Cycle 27-29 Archival Legacy project “SKYSURF” to develop algorithms to facilitate the building of the ~100 TB SKYSURF database. He was also responsible for developing code to algorithmically simulate large numbers of semi-realistic FITS images containing stars, galaxies, and cosmic rays. The image simulations were used to test the accuracy of the sky background measurement algorithms developed for project SKYSURF.

    In concurrence with his work on SKYSURF, he returned to the STScI in summer 2020 as 1 of 15 students selected from a pool of over 500 to participate in the virtual Space Astronomy Summer Program (SASP). He worked on a project titled, “Effects of Post-Observation Data Processing on ACS/WFC Polarimetry,” and his goal was to assess the effect pixel-based CTE correction has on polarimetric data and our ability to precisely and accurately measure low polarization. By the end of the SASP, he was able to—for the first time—demonstrate quantitatively that polarimetry of point sources is not significantly affected by pixel-based CTE correction. He presented his research at the SASP Symposium at the program’s conclusion. Following the SASP, he refocused his efforts on project SKYSURF and is currently responsible for running AstroDrizzle on all images in the database to prepare them for future analysis.

    Outside of research and academics, Delondrae often volunteers at ASU’s public outreach events as a member of Rogier Windhorst’s Cosmology Research Group (CRG), such as Earth and Space Exploration Day, in which he presents posters of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) accompanied by a computer simulation that allows users to travel through the HUDF by clicking on galaxies. He has also served as a mentor in the Sundial mentoring program during the spring 2021 semester, in which he used his image simulations as a tool for teaching how to analyze data with Python and Linux. Delondrae enjoys engaging and fascinating the next generation of astronomers with the work he does.