William DeRocco
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Thanks for stopping by! Keep scrolling to learn a little more about me.
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Last updated: 12/15/24
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About
I'm a physicist and astronomer with a Ph.D. from Stanford now working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University. I work on topics ranging from fundamental particles to free-floating planets. Check out my Inspire and NASA ADS pages to see what I've been thinking about recently!
Education and Experience
University of Maryland, College Park
2024 - now
Leading search for rogue planets with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope while working on new models of dark matter. Joint postdoctoral position with Johns Hopkins University.
University of California, Santa Cruz
2021 - 2024
Worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics on astrophysical signatures of new physics. Awarded the 2023 Graduate Division Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Award for my work and contributions to outreach.
Stanford University (Ph.D.)
2016 - 2021
Conducted research under thesis advisor Peter Graham with a focus on astrophysical probes of beyond the Standard Model physics. Graduate teaching assistant in classes ranging from freshman intro physics to graduate level general relativity. ARCS Fellowship recipient for 2020-2021.
Yale University (B.S.)
2012 - 2016
Graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Physics. Spent my time working at both CERN and Fermilab on experimental particle physics, resulting in a senior thesis that won the Howard L. Schultz prize.
For more information, check out my CV below.
Past Projects and Current Work
Here are some highlights from the past few years (and a few projects I'm current working on). If any pique your interest, click through to read the paper.
Free-Floating Planets
It turns out that deep in the dark voids between stars... there are planets! In fact, there may be more floating around out there than are actually orbiting stars. I just ran the first international workshop dedicated to understanding this population. Check out some of the talks here!
