Ky Putnam

My name is Ky Putnam and I’m a first year graduate student at CU Boulder. My research interests fall within the realm of observational cosmology, though I am still exploring which avenue (data analysis, instrumentation, simulation) is right for me. I graduated from San Diego State University with a B.S. in physics where I conducted research in theoretical nuclear physics, quantifying uncertainty in local chiral nuclear interactions under Rodrigo Navarro Pérez. As my senior thesis I explored optical metrics for classifying relaxed galaxy clusters as a continuation of an REU with the X-ray Astronomy and Observational Cosmology research group at Stanford University under Steve Allen. 

Advisor: Jack Burns

Scholastic achievements

2023 NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Thomas B. Day Award for Excellence in Physics, Most Outstanding Undergraduate Student, San Diego State University

Summa Cum Laude, San Diego State University