Brendan O'Connor

Hi, I'm Brendan. I am a Neil Gehrels Fellow working in time-domain and multimessenger (TDAMM) astrophysics. My research focuses on the origin and evolution of high-energy transients and the extreme stellar systems that produce them. I am particularly interested in the relativistic outflows that produce gamma-ray bursts and fast X-ray transients, including phenomena associated with the deaths of massive stars and the mergers of compact objects. I use a variety of multiwavelength observatories across the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., Gemini, Chandra, HST, JWST) to investigate the physical mechanisms that power these transients and to constrain the properties of their progenitors and environments.

I received my PhD from The George Washington University in 2023. Prior to moving to Maryland, I was a McWilliams Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University.