Research Group

Overview

Our group studies the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems, combining analytical theory, numerical simulations, and connections to observations.

We focus on how planetary systems acquire their observed architectures, from their origin in protoplanetary disks to their long-term dynamical evolution.

Current Members

Postdoctoral Researchers

Hareesh Bhaskar (Postdoctoral Associate, IU, 2025–)
Research: secular dynamics, tides, scattering

Carolina Charalambous (Postdoc, 2023–2025)
Research: planet–disk interactions, resonance breaking

PhD Students

Ryan LoRusso (PhD, IU, 2024–)
Research: cold Neptunes, resonance breaking

Agustin Heron (PhD, IU, 2024–)
Research: planet–disk interactions, resonance demographics

Alumni

PhD Students

Juan Ignacio Espinoza Retamal (PhD, PUC, 2020–2024) → Postdoc at Princeton (51 Pegasi fellow)
Research: planetary inclination demographics

Marcy Best (PhD, PUC, 2020–2024) → Postdoc at YEMS (Chile)
Research: formation of close-in planets by planetesimal accretion

Graduate students (MSc or pre-PhD thesis)

• Juan Garrido-Deutelmoser (PUC) → Arizona PhD
• Imran Nasim (Surrey U.) → Harvard Medical School
• Emily Deibert (UT) → Gemini Science Fellow

Undergraduate Researchers

• Robbie Mailliard (IU, senior thesis)
• Nick Michaels (IU, senior thesis)
• Matthew Doty (Notre Dame → Rice PhD)
• Yurou Liu (Yale, visiting IU)
• Mila Winter → Princeton PhD
• Fernanda Correa → Chicago PhD
• Valentín Peña-Donaire → MSc PUC
• Ignacio Narea → MSc PUC
• Fabian Soto → Industry
• Matthew Bub → Caltech PhD
• Matthias He → Penn State PhD