Dr. Brian Cherinka
Assistant Research Scientist
Pronouns:
he/him
Department:
Dunlap
Education:
Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh
Brian Cherinka joined the Dunlap Institute as part of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) team. MaNGA is an integral-field spectroscopic survey of 10,000 nearby galaxies and one of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV programs. The MaNGA team at the institute is developing the project’s data-reduction pipeline and advancing science cases.
In addition to his work on MaNGA, Cherinka’s research focuses on the formation and evolution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Through spectrographic observations, he is investigating hydrogen gas within galaxies, as well as the relationship between the galaxies and their surrounding environments.
Cherinka, who received his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, is also collaborating with researchers from that institution to improve the visualizations of astronomical data for exploratory research.
While at the Dunlap, he also helped organize Astronomy on Tap T.O., a public outreach event held at a downtown Toronto bar that helped U of T astronomers reach a new audience.
He joined the Dunlap Institute in 2012 and departed in September 2015 to become Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University.
