Natalie Lam

(she/her/hers)

Graduate Student
UCLA Division of Astronomy & Astrophysics

View my CV

About Me

My name is Natalie Lam and I am a second year graduate student in the Astronomy & Astrophysics Ph.D. program at UCLA. As a recipient of the Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship, I am driven by a passion for astronomy research, science outreach to underrepresented minority (URM) communities, and advocacy for URM and women in STEM.

I'm primarily interested in using spectroscopic observational data to study the gaseous environments in and around galaxies.

Beyond my academic pursuits, I am an avid choral singer and artist. I am currently a soprano in the UCLA Chorale. Previously, I have sung in the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus and toured as part of the Hong Kong Children's Choir. Outside of school and work, I enjoy oil painting and arts & crafts.

Current Projects

Galactic Outflows at High-redshift

I am currently working with Prof. Alice Shapley on studying the properties of galactic outflows at high-redshift. We are using the OH-Suppressing Infra-Red Imaging Spectrograph (OSIRIS) integral field spectrograph (IFS) at the Keck I Telescope in Hawaii to observe the rest-frame optical emission lines of galaxies at z~2-3. Our goal is to understand the spatial distribution of galactic outflow properties in conjunction with spectroscopic data taken with the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (LRIS) and Multi-Object Spectrograph for Infrared Exploration (MOSFIRE).

Past Research

AGN-driven Outflows of Low-redshift Quasars

As part of the Honor's Program under the Physics Department at UC San Diego, I conducted my Senior Honors Thesis research on Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) driven outflows with Prof. Alison Coil. Using observational data from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) integral field spectrograph (IFS) at the Keck II Telescope in Hawaii, I studied the morphology, kinematics, and energetics of the warm ionized phase of the AGN-driven outflow in the nearby galaxy F05189-2524. I performed simultaneous fitting of AGN emission, stellar absorption, interstellar medium emission, and outflow emission using the IDL IFSFIT package written by Prof. David Rupke. I then made maps of the outflow velocities and surface brightness and produced estimates of the energetics of the outflow. In the end, we revealed a larger outflow extent and an additional highg-velocity kinematic component in the warm ionized phase of the AGN-driven outflow in F05189-2524.

Read my thesis:
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Structural Inhomogeneities in Swelling Hydrogel

During the summer of my junior year, I received the Division of Physical Sciences Undergraduate Summer Research Award (URA) and conducted my research project on hydrogels in Prof. Alex Frañó’s X Lab. This project had two main motivations: 1) Empirically describe hydrogel’s structural changes during the swelling process to provide insight and constraints for models of the complex evolution of non-equilibrium systems and 2) On the side of educational research, how can a student new to experimental condensed matter physics approach this question? With the challenge of limiting my resources and academic level of concepts used, I was able to design and build a table-top experimental setup, collect multiple sets of data of the dynamic system, and perform data analysis in Python that yielded significant results of a non-trivial expansion process. My experimental setup serves as the prototype for a demonstration in the optics physics course that Professor Frañó teaches.

Check out my poster:
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Outreach, EDI & Leadership

Current Involvement

Exploring Your Universe

Exploring Your Universe is the largest science fair at UCLA. As Event Coordinator, I work to ensure smooth operations, security, and crowd-flow during the event. I also work with the Planetarium Coordinators on planetarium showings.

Astronomy Live! Summer Observing Workshop

Astronomy Live! Summer Observing Workshop is a 9-week program that introduces high school students to scientific research through the lens of observational astronomy. The program is designed to provide students with a hands-on experience using telescopes and data analysis tools to conduct their own research projects. The workshop is led by UCLA graduate students earning their Ph.D.’s in Astronomy.

Past Experience

Physics Outreach

I was active in Physics and STEM outreach efforts during my time at UC San Diego as an undergraduate student.

I volunteered at public science fairs and high school visits, bringing Physics education and interactive demonstrations to disadvantaged communities and neighborhoods in San Diego. Check out the Southeast San Diego Science & Art Expo and Barrio Logan Science & Art Expo.

I was also a workshop volunteer and panelist at STEM outreach events aimed towards middle and high school girls like STEM Girl Summer and Tech Trek.

President of Society of Physics Students @ UC San Diego

I served as the Media Chair of the UC San Diego chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) from 2020-2022 and was elected the President for the 2022-2023 term. As the chapter president I led a team of 25 to organize events for the Physics undergraduate student population. We hosted events like research seminars, lab tours, professional development workshops, diversity/equity/inclusion talks, socials, and the annual Physics graduation ceremony. I also corresponded with faculty and the department on matters regarding the organization and the physics undergraduate community as a whole.

I was also involved in the branch of SPS @ UC San Diego called Advocating for and Representing Minority Students (ARMS) which aims to shed light on issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion in Physics and educate the scientific community on the minority experience in Physics. We highlighted minority Physicists through honorariums and seminars.

In my time as president, our chapter won a 2022 Outstanding Chapter Award and I was one of the recipients of the 2022 LLNL-AIP Leadership Scholarship. Check out SPS @ UC San Diego.

Supplemental Instruction Leader & Mentor

Education

Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics (2023-present)

University of California Los Angeles

B.S. in Physics w/ Specialization in Astrophysics (2019-2023)

University of California San Diego

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