I lead a vibrant research group of 8 members at the University of Canterbury. Since 2023 my students have published 5 peer-reviewed papers, with more under review. Interested in joining? Get in touch.
PhD, Masters, and Honours students — 2026.
Project
The Extremes of Cataclysmic Timescales
Zac's PhD explores the most extreme time-variable phenomena detectable with TESS, from short-period cataclysmic binaries to cosmological applications of Type Ia supernovae. His work has already produced four peer-reviewed publications, including two MNRAS papers challenging the standard cosmological model using Pantheon+ supernova data.
Publications
MNRAS 2024 Cosmological Foundations Revisited with Pantheon+ MNRAS 2025 Supernovae Evidence for Foundational Change to Cosmological Models ApJ 2025 SN 2019vxm: A Shocking Coincidence between Fermi and TESS ApJ 2024 GRB Afterglows Detected by TESS (Roxburgh, Ridden-Harper et al.) AJ 2025 TESSELLATE: Piecing Together the Variable Sky with TESS (Roxburgh et al.)Project
Understanding the Fastest Transients Observed by TESS
Clarinda has been part of the group since her summer research project in 2023 searching for fast radio burst counterparts in TESS data, through an Honours project on TESS transient survey detection efficiency, and now into her MSc. Her Honours work contributed to the TESSELLATE paper (Roxburgh et al. 2025).
Project
Exploring the Rapid Universe with Every Observation from JWST
Jaime completed her MSc on the systematic search for rapid transient phenomena in archival JWST observations and continues with the group as a research assistant, pushing JWST's extraordinary sensitivity to detect fast transients that would otherwise go unnoticed in targeted observations.
Graduated students and where they went.
BSc (Hons), University of Canterbury
Project: Exploring How High-Cadence Supernova Observations Impact Cosmology
BSc (Hons), University of Canterbury
Project: Building an Instrument Simulator for the ANU 2.3m Telescope
BSc (Hons), University of Canterbury
MSc, University of Canterbury
Project: Detecting Sources and Classifying Light Curves through Machine Learning
MSc, University of Canterbury (co-supervised)
Project: Extracting and Analysing Satellite Spectra with MUSE
BSc (Hons), University of Canterbury, 2023
Project: Precise PSF Photometry of Supernovae with TESS
Summer Research Project, University of Canterbury, 2023
Project: Building a Difference Imaging Pipeline for Mt John Observatory
I supervise students at the University of Canterbury on projects at the frontier of time-domain astronomy, transient astrophysics, and astronomical software development. My group is diverse, collaborative, and connected to major international collaborations.
Projects typically involve data analysis, Python programming, and novel science — no prior astronomy experience is required for strong candidates with physics, maths, or CS backgrounds.
Reach out if you're interested in using data to explore the Universe in creative ways and want to join a productive and relaxed group.
Get in TouchUntargeted detection of supernovae, GRBs, TDEs, cataclysmic variables, and unknown transients using TESSreduce and TESSELLATE.
Building the next-generation ML/AI models for astrophysics, in partnership with the Zooniverse Project and a growing human-classified dataset.
Early-time photometry and spectroscopy capturing shock breakout, circumstellar interaction, and progenitor constraints in the first hours after explosion.
Characterising interstellar comets with IFU spectroscopy and supporting planetary defence through asteroid monitoring.
Quantifying and mitigating the impact of commercial satellite constellations on astronomical data and the night sky.
Using TESS light curves of Type Ia supernovae to test cosmological models, including alternatives to ΛCDM.