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Department of Physics and Astronomy

Katherine Shepard

Senior Lecturer

Dr. Katherine Shepard was most recently a graduate student at Georgia State University studying massive variable binary systems known as Serpentids. She has published two first-first-author papers focusing on spectroscopic studies of the two most rapidly rotating O-type stars located in the LMC.

She has previous teaching experience with both physics and astronomy labs and has developed and taught her own full Introductory Astronomy course. Additionally, she has significant outreach experience with all ages and backgrounds. She especially enjoys interacting with children at outreach events. Their unbridled enthusiasm and interest is infectious, and she loves encouraging the next generation's curiosity.

She grew up on an Armenian Church Camp in the Sierra Navada in California before graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY with her bachelor of arts and a concentration in physics. Her first experience with astronomy research was during a REU at Oklahoma University where she modeled how a second sun would affect the population of the Oort Cloud. She recently received the Outstanding Advanced Graduate Student in Astronomy award from Georgia State University. She aims to develop supportive, useful, and interesting courses in all topics she teaches by utilizing recent findings in education research while also providing opportunities for students to practice applicable life skills. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her cat, crocheting, and reading. 

Specializations

Spectroscopy of Rapidly Rotating Massive Stars, Interferometry and Spectroscopy of binary systems, circumstellar, and circumbinary disks, Serpentid binary systems


Representative Publications

  • The Great Dimming of the Hypergiant Star RW Cephei: CHARA Array Images and Spectral Analysis Anugu, N., Baron, F., Gies, D. R., Lanthermann, C., Schaefer, G. H., Shepard, K. A., Brummelaar, T., Monnier, J. D., Kraus, S., Le Bouquin, J., Davies, C. L., Ennis, J., Gardner, T., Labdon, A., Roettenbacher, R. M., Setterholm, B. R., Vollmann, W., Sigismondi, C. 2023, AJ, 166, 78. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/ace59d
  • Spectroscopic Line Modeling of the Fastest Rotating O-Type Stars Shepard, K., Gies, D. R., Kaper, L., De Koter, A. 2022, ApJ, 931, 35. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac66e6
  • Mass Transfer as an Explanation for the Lifetime Travel Time Discrepancy in IT Librae Wysocki, P., Gies, D. R., Shepard, K., Lester, K. V., Orosz, J. 2022, AJ, 163, 177. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/ac549d
  • MWC 656: A Be+BH or a Be+sdO? Rivinius, T., Klement, R., Chojnowski, S. D., Baade, D., Shepard, K., Hadrava, P. 2022, arXiv:2208.12315. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2208.12315
  • The Transformative Journey of HD 93521 Gies, D. R., Shepard, K., Wysocki, P., Klement, R. 2022, AJ, 163, 100. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/ac43be
  • HST/COS Spectra of the Wind Lines of VFTS 102 and 285 Shepard, K., Gies, D. R., Lester, K. V., Wang, L., Guo, Z., Kaper, L., De Koter, A., Sana, H. 2019, ApJ, 888, 82. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ab5a82
  • Spectroscopic Detection of the Pre-White Dwarf Companion of Regulus Gies, D. R., Lester, K. V., Wang, L, Couperus, A., Shepard, K., Neiner, C., Wade, G. A., Dunham, D. W., Dunham, J. B. 2020, ApJ, 902, 25. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/abb372