Ian Padgett was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. While in Florida, he gained a lasting interest in space by watching the final space shuttle launches at Kennedy space center and joining his local astronomy club. Paired with a want to explore, this led him to move to Hawaii in 2019 to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics at University of Hawaii at Manoa. While there, he started introductory research projects involving Pan-STARRS and currently works with gravitational lens modeling. Ian intends to pursue an observing position on Mauna Kea to gain experience and continue to do post bachelor research before pursuing a doctorate in astrophysics in Europe. Ian loves public outreach events, snorkeling, photography, and sweet tea!

Home Island: Mainland

High School: 

Institution when accepted: University of Hawai’i at Manoa

Project Site: Institute for Astronomy, Hilo: IfA, Hilo, Big Island HI

Mentor: David Jones

Project Abstract:

Coming soon