Chessy graduated from the University of Toronto this year having completed the Honours Bachelor of Science with High Distinction in Astronomy and Physics Specialist, Mathematics and Its Applications Specialist (Physical Science), and Computer Science Minor focusing on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Chessy loved the idea of learning about the Universe that we live in and was fortunate to be able to do so through her undergraduate studies. Currently, Chessy is intrigued by Fast Radio Bursts, which she is working towards studying through her SURP project.Â
What made you decide to participate in SURP?
My SURP project is a continuation of my final year research project for the Astronomy and Physics Specialist program where I started looking at the localization for CHIME’s side-lobe events. The results we were getting showed hints that this project could lead to more exciting findings. With this strong motivation, I decided to continue the research project throughout the summer by participating in SURP. Alongside the excitement of being able to continue the research project, the opportunity to do research full time and be able to immerse in a research community for four months made SURP extra valuable to me.Â
What is your favourite thing about SURP?
My favourite aspect of SURP is that it is an opportunity that allows me to focus on purely my research and not be distracted by anything else. I find this time to focus very valuable as I could test out new ideas whenever they come up and I wouldn’t be forced to stop my thought process to do something else first.Â
Can you tell us about your research project?
My research project is aimed at studying Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) detected in the side-lobes of the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) radio telescope. The project involves first improving the current localization process for CHIME’s side-lobe events by combining two existing localization methods for events detected by CHIME. Then, exploring and modelling systematic offsets present in the localizations to gain confidence in the performance of our localization process. Lastly, we want to apply the localization process to a set of FRBs detected in CHIME’s side-lobes, look for potential host associations, and hopefully be able to develop a better understanding in FRBs through studying these host associations!Â
Can you explain how SURP has been different from your undergrad work?
A key difference that SURP has from my undergraduate studies is that there is no longer a defined schedule of what to study and what needs to be done like in undergraduate courses. I found that this difference really pushes me to analyze and think about what should be done as a next step. To me, it felt like a role shift from being a student and following a course schedule that has already been planned out to being a researcher.Â
What are your plans for the future?
Having just graduated, I don’t actually have a definite plan for the future yet. I love how SURP gives me a pre-view of what my daily life could look like if I decide to continue my journey in academia right when I needed it. No matter what I decide on afterwards, I believe that SURP will be a memorable experience for me, not only because of the research project but also the growth in communication and leadership skills that I am able to gain throughout the process.Â
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