Kelsey Hoffman

Education: Ph.D. Astronomy

Dr. Kelsey Hoffman received her PhD from the University of British Columbia for her work using Molecular Dynamics calculations to calculate the strength of matter under extreme conditions as found in Neutron Star crusts.    After her PhD Dr. Hoffman joined the Canadian Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics as a postdoctoral fellow where she continued her work on neutron stars and the application of Molecular Dynamics to determine the equation of state of material found in the core of extrasolar planets. In 2014 Dr. Hoffman joined the SETI Institute as a Research Scientist as a participating Kepler Scientist.

As a member of the Kepler Science Office Dr. Hoffman has been focused on measuring the fundamental parameters of Kepler’s planetary candidates also known as Kepler Objects of Interest (KOI).  Her work allows for determination of properties such as the plant radius, with reliable errors bars. This work relied on high performance computing in order to perform the necessary Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) analysis of each KOI. The sample analyzed contained over 8000 KOIs. The work was performed in order to support the Data Release 25 Kepler Catalog.