Steffani Grondin

Contact me: steffani.grondin@astro.utoronto.ca

I'm a final-year PhD candidate in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto (Advisors: Dr. Maria Drout & Dr. Jeremy Webb) where I hold a Postgraduate Scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). I recieved my physics and astronomy Honours Bachelor of Science in 2020 at the University of British Columbia (Advisor: Dr. Harvey Richer).

My research combines observations, simulations and machine learning to study binary and star cluster evolution. Currently, I am using multi-band observations to discover and characterize new white dwarf+main-sequence post-common envelope binary systems in open star clusters to place observational constraints on the highly uncertain common envelope phase of binary evolution (Read the press release of our new discovery of the first population of white dwarf+main sequence binaries in clusters here! ). I am also a developer of Corespray, which is a Python-based software that quickly samples dynamical interactions between stars and binaries, providing insights into the escaped stellar populations of globular clusters.

In my free time, you can find me racing in marathons and triathlons, exploring the outdoors and adding to my ever-expanding vinyl record collection.

Check out my publications on the NASA ADS here.

Here is my CV.