DR. SARA WEBB
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Astronomy Research

See my Current Projects
Awards and Achievements 
  • 2021 - Directors Outstanding Achievement (Winner) -  Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology
  • 2021 - Best Student Talk (Winner) - Astronomical Society of Australia Annual Science Meeting.
  • 2020 - HDR Student of the Year (Winner) - FSET Swinburne University of Technology 
  • 2020 - HDR Women Student of the Year (Commendation) - FSET Swinburne University of Technology
  • 2019 - Directors Outstanding Achievement in Outreach (Winner) - Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology
  • 2019 - Kavli Summer Program in Astrophysics (Student Fellow) - University of California Santa Cruz
  • ​2018 - Violet Louise Bonner Postgraduate Scholarship for Women (Winner) - FSET Swinburne University of Technology
  • 2018 - Swinburne University Postgraduate Research Award (Scholarship) - FSET Swinburne University of Technology
  • 2017 - Australian Institute of Physics (Scholarship) - Selected to receive full scholarship to attend 2017 summer meeting
  • 2017 - First Class Honours in Physics (Degree) - GPA 6.25/7, Queensland University of Technology
  • 2016 - Physics Honours Scholarship (Scholarship) - Queensland University of Technology
  • 2016 - Conference Travel Grant (Scholarship) - Queensland University of Technology
  • 2016 - Bachelor of Science, Major: in Physics (Degree) - Queensland University of Technology
  • 2015 - Summer Research Scholar (Scholarship) - Swinburne University of Technology
  • 2013 - Summer Research Scholar (Scholarship) - Queensland University of Technology

Publications
  • R. Strausbaugh et al, including S.Webb, "Finding Fast Transients in Real Time Using a Novel light-curve Analysis Algorithm", AJ, 163, 2, id.95  arXiv:2109.13203
  • S. Webb. J. Cooke, et al., "The Deeper, Wider, Faster Program: Exploring flare activity with deep, fast cadenced DECam imaging".  MNRAS, 506, 2, 2021.  arXiv:2106.13026 
  • D. Muthukrishna, including S.Webb, "Real-time detection of anomalies in large-scale transient surveys", submitted to MNRAS,  arXiv:2111.00036
  • L. Strubbe including S.Webb, "The Pan-African School for Emerging Astronomers", Nature Astronomy, 5, 2021. 
  • S. Webb,  M. Lochner et al.,  "Unsupervised machine learning for transient discovery in Deeper, Wider, Faster light curves".  MNRAS, 498, 3 2020 arXiv:2008.04666
  • M. Kasliwal et al. including S.Webb. "Kilonova luminosity function constraints based on Zwicky Transient Facility Searches for 13 Neutron Star Mergers".  Submitted to ApJ 2020. arXiv:2006.11306
  • J. Cooke et al., including S.Webb. "The Deeper, Wider, Faster Program: A new approach to fast transient detection and follow-up, including fast radio burst and gravitational wave counterparts". In Preparation. 
  • L. Lidman et al., including S.Webb. "OzDES multi-object fibre spectroscopy for the Dark Energy Survey: results and second data release". MNRAS 496,1, 2020. arXiv:2006.00449 
  • I. Andreoni et al., including S.Webb. "GROWTH on S190814bv: Deep Synoptic Limits on the Optical/Near-infrared Counterpart to a Neutron Star─Black Hole Merger". ApJ, 890, 2, 2020. arXiv:1910.13409
  • I. Andreoni, J. Cooke, S. Webb et al., "Probing the extragalactic fast transient sky at minute time-scales with DECam". MNRAS 2020. arXiv:1903.11083
  • W. Farah et al., including S.Webb. "Five new real-time detections of fast radio bursts with UTMOST".  MNRAS 2019. arXiv:1905.02293
  • I. Andreoni et al., including S.Webb. "GROWTH on S190510g: DECam Observation Planning and Follow-up of a Distant Binary Neutron Star Merger Candidate".  ApJL 2019. arXiv:1906.00806
  • I. Andreoni et al., including S.Webb. "A Strategy for LSST to Unveil a Population of Kilonovae without Gravitational-wave Triggers". PASP 2019. arXiv:1812.03161​
  • K. Ackley et al., including S.Webb. "Neutron Star Extreme Matter Observatory: A kilohertz-band gravitational-wave detector in the global network". arXiv:2007.03128
  • R. Foley et al.,  including S.Webb. "Gravity and Light: Combining Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Observations in the 2020s". Astro2020 arXiv:1903.04553 
Thesis 
  •  S.Webb. "Investigating the Impact of Core Collapse Supernovae Contamination within the Dark Energy Survey". Honours Thesis 2017. See HERE for full text. 
  • S. Webb "Exploring the Optical Fast Transient Universe" PhD thesis 2021. 

Talks and Conference Presentations​
  • National Youth Science Forum, Guest Talk, "Transient Astronomy", (Jan 2022). 
  • Bowling Green State University, Invited Talk  "Unsupervised Machine learning for Fast Transient Astronomy" (Jan 2022).
  • Paris Observatory, Invited Talk, "Fast Flares in the Galaxy, and the Unsupervised Machine learning used to find them" (Jan 2022).
  • Astronomical Society of Victoria, Invited Talk  "The Fastest Stellar Flares in the Galaxy" (Dec 2021).
  • Swinburne University of Technology, guest talk, "State of the Universe - Finding Life" (Sep 2021).
  • Macquarie University, Invited Talk  "Exploring the Fastest Stellar Flares with the Deeper, Wider, Faster program." (March 2021).
  • Astronomical Society of Australia (Online), Conference Talk  "Unsupervised ML methods for flare star science" (July 2021).
  • ​University of California, Santa Cruz CA (Online), Contributed to the Kavli Summer Program Alumni Meeting with a talk on  "Anomaly Detection with unsupervised methods for Light Curves" (July 2020).
  • Swinburne University of Technology VIC, Public lecture on the Dark Universe. Watch Here (March 2020)
  • Caltech, CA, Contributed to the Keck Wide Field Imager Workshop with a talk on "Fast Transients with KWFI". (December 2019)
  • OzGrav Retreat VIC, Invited talk on the DWF program and GW optical counterpart searches for LIGO/Virgo O3. (December 2019)
  • Northwestern, IL, Contributed to Hot Wiring the Transient Universe conference with a talk on "Unsupervised learning on the Seconds to minutes transient Universe" and chairing a panel on "Lessons learnt from past and current surveys" (August 2019)
  • ​University of California, Santa Cruz CA,  Presented a final presentation on the work undertaken as part of the Kavli summer program in Astrophysics with a talk on "Unsupervised methods for time series anomaly detection". (July 2019)
  • University of New South Wales, NSW, Contributed to the LSST ASIA conference with a talk on "Transient Science with the Deeper, Wider, Faster program". (March 2019)
  • Swinburne University of Technology VIC, Contributed to the Australian National Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics annual meeting, with a talk "Transient Universe in the Era of Big Data". (February 2019)
  • Queensland University of Technology, QLD, ​invited talk to the Physics Society. (August 2018)
  • Caltech, CA, Contributed to the Swinburne-Caltech data science workshop with a talk on "The Deeper, Wider, Faster program " (September 2018)

Telescope Proposals and Observing Experiance
  • ANU2.3m/WiFeS 2020B - PI/Observer Awarded 6 nights 
  • AAT/2dF-AAOmega 2020B - Co-PI/Observer Awarded 5 nights 
  • CTIO/DECam 2020B - Co-PI/ real-time data management lead, Awarded 6 nights
  • Parkes 2019B - Co-PI, Awarded 36 hours 
  • Astrosat Cycle A09, Awarded 9900 seconds
  • CTIO/DECam 2019B - Co-PI/Observer and real-time data management lead, 6 nights
  • ANU2.3m/WiFeS 2019B - PI/Observer Awarded 5 nights
  • AAT/2dF-AAOmega 2019B - PI/Observer Awarded 3 nights 
  • CTIO/DECam 2019A - Co-PI/Observer and real-time data management lead,  6 nights
  • ANU2.3m/WiFeS 2019A - PI Awarded 8 nights
  • Keck/LRIS 2018B - Observer, 2 nights 
  • CTIO/DECam 2018A - Co-PI/Observer  6 nights
  • Subaru/HSC 2018A- Observer, 2 nights 
  • AAT/2dF-AAOmega 2016B, Observer, 5 nights 
  • Keck 2015B, Observer, 1 night 
    ​
View My ResearchGate
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  • Home
  • CONTACT ME
  • ACADEMIC
    • RESEARCH
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  • SCi-COM
    • TV
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