I am a physics PhD student at TCU working with Dr. Kathleen Barger on integral field spectroscopy of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Before that I studied physics at Utah Valley University and spent a summer with the PAndAS team at the University of Michigan.
Education
Ph.D. in Physics, astrophysics specialization 2025 – present
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas
- Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Barger
- Expected 2030
B.S. in Physics, minor in Mathematics 2019 – 2023
Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah
- Magna cum laude
Research
Current focus. Emission-line maps of 30 Doradus, the Tarantula Nebula, from SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper integral field spectroscopy: coadded line-flux maps, dust extinction from Balmer decrements, de-reddened maps, and spatially resolved line-ratio diagnostics, aimed at the flow of gas in and around the region.
Areas.
- Emission-line spectroscopy and Balmer decrements
- Dust extinction in the Large Magellanic Cloud
- Integral field spectroscopy data pipelines
- Extracting physical parameters from large spectroscopic data sets
Positions
Graduate Research Assistant 2025 – present
Texas Christian University, Department of Physics and Astronomy
- LVM emission-line analysis of 30 Doradus with Dr. Kathleen Barger
NSF Physics REU June 2022 – 2023
University of Michigan, Department of Astronomy
- Advisor: Dr. Eric Bell
- Islands no more: the important mergers of nearby galaxies and their effects. Searched for faint satellites around Andromeda using number-density variations of RGB stars in the PAndAS survey, reduced Gemini follow-up imaging and built photometric catalogs of candidates, then worked on Hubble Space Telescope follow-up. Contributed to the discovery of Andromeda XXXV.
Undergraduate Researcher May 2020 – 2023
Utah Valley University, Department of Physics
- Advisor: Dr. Christian Draper
- Emission Expedition: a spectral survey of 800,000 galaxies. Used the spectra of 792,503 galaxies from SDSS Data Release 16, binned by redshift, to measure how the fraction of galaxies showing each of 17 visible emission lines changes with redshift. Calculated star formation rates and used BPT diagrams to diagnose the origin of the emission.
Publications
- Jose Marco Arias, Eric F. Bell, Katya Gozman, In Sung Jang, Saxon Stockton, Oleg Y. Gnedin, Richard D’Souza, Antonela Monachesi, Jeremy Bailin, David Nidever, and Roelof S. de Jong (2025). “Andromeda XXXV: The Faintest Dwarf Satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy.” The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 982(1), L3. DOI · arXiv:2502.19516 · ADS
Presentations
Presenting author in every case.
- Stockton, S. and Bell, E. (2022). Shine faint like an ultra faint dwarf galaxy. REU Symposium 2022, University of Michigan Physics Department, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- Stockton, S. and Bell, E. (2022). Shine faint like an ultra faint dwarf galaxy. Departmental seminar, Utah Valley University Physics Department, Orem, Utah.
- Stockton, S. and Draper, C. (2022). Emission Expedition: a spectral survey of 800,000 galaxies. American Astronomical Society 240, Pasadena, California.
- Stockton, S. and Draper, C. (2022). Emission Expedition: a spectral survey of 800,000 galaxies. Utah NASA Space Grant Consortium poster session, Logan, Utah.
- Stockton, S. and Draper, C. (2022). Large sample analysis of emission and absorption galaxies. Utah Conference for Undergraduate Research, St. George, Utah.
- Stockton, S. and Draper, C. (2022). Large sample analysis of emission and absorption galaxies. Departmental seminar, Utah Valley University Physics Department, Orem, Utah.
Teaching
Teaching Assistant 2025 – present
Texas Christian University, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Adjunct Instructor 2023 – 2025
Utah Valley University, Department of Physics
Physics Tutor 2019 – 2020
Utah Valley University
| Course | Role | Sections |
|---|---|---|
| PHYS 10154 Physics 1 Lab (TCU) | Teaching assistant | 2 |
| PHYS 2215 Physics for Scientists and Engineers 1 Lab (UVU) | Adjunct instructor | 7 |
| PHYS 2015 College Physics 1 Lab (UVU) | Adjunct instructor | 8 |
| PHYS 2025 College Physics 2 Lab (UVU) | Adjunct instructor | 1 |
| ASTR 1040 Introduction to Astronomy (UVU) | Lecturer | 3 |
| PHSC 1000 Survey of Physical Sciences (UVU) | Lecturer | 1 |
See Teaching Resources for the materials I have written, including Lab Help for my current sections.
Awards, Fellowships, and Grants
- 2022: Student Excellence Award, College of Science, UVU · NSF REU, University of Michigan · NSF S-STEM Scholarship · Utah NASA Space Grant · SCULPT Grant · Scholarly Activities SAC Grant · Dean’s List
- 2021: NSF S-STEM Scholarship · Dean’s List
- 2020: NSF S-STEM Scholarship · Dean’s List
Service and Outreach
- Society of Physics Students, UVU chapter president (2020 – 2022)
- UVU Student Association, Physics Department representative (2021 – 2022)
- Physics Club representative at Club Rush (2020 – 2022)
- Physics Department representative: Highlighting Women in STEM planning committee, College of Science Open House, and Future Science Student Day (2022); Science vs. Hollywood (2021 – 2022)
Professional memberships. American Astronomical Society (junior member) · Society of Physics Students
Technical Skills
| Area | Tools |
|---|---|
| Languages | Python, C, Fortran |
| Scientific Python | NumPy, SciPy, Astropy, Matplotlib, pandas |
| Data | FITS, integral field spectroscopy cubes, SDSS-V / LVM data products |
| Other | Git, LaTeX, Quarto, Unix shell |