Research Ambassadors
Jay Kneiss '28
Email me at: jkneiss2@u.rochester.edu
Discipline(s) of Research
- Physical Sciences
Major(s) and Minor(s)
- B.S. in Physics and Astronomy
- B.A. in Mathematics
Areas of Interest/Research Focus
- Observational Cosmology with a focus in Galaxy formation and evolution.
- Rochester DESI Cosmology Group with Professors Segev BenZvi and Kelly Douglass. Analyzing the difference in evolution between galaxies in walls (high density) and voids (low density).
- BYU Physics and Astronomy REU with Dr. Aleksandr Mosenkov. Studied the occurrence rate and structure of polar structure galaxies in Euclid.
Areas where I may be particularly helpful
- Cold emailing
- REU applications
What advice do you have for prospective or new researchers?
You are not expected to know enough to be an immediate asset to your research group, but the PIs want you there anyway. Research is much more specific than classes are, and as such the only people in the world who really know what is going on in a research group are the researchers themselves and maybe a few peripheral people they collaborate with. This means that the only way to learn how to be helpful in a group is to be a member of the group or a little bit, and also that the PIs are desperate to share what they know with other people and get more help. Do not be too worried if you do not have the hyper-specific skill set needed, you are still a valuable addition to any research group and should never count yourself out of getting a position.