Amy Lien

My research interests lie in understanding how the universe begins and evolves through the most energetic astrophysical explosions: gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), supernovae, merging neutron stars and black holes. My main research utilizes GRBs detected by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a multi-wavelength space telescope dedicated to studying GRBs and the transient sky. GRBs are seen from within our neighborhood of galaxies to the early universe when the rst stars were expected to form (Fig. 1). I use GRBs to explore the history of the universe, and study how nature can form these energetic bursts from either the collapse of massive stars or merging of compact objects like neutron stars and black holes.