Aidan received his B.S. degree in Astronomy from UH Hilo in 2022. While there, he studied astrometric calibration using smartphone screens with Michael Bottom. After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Aidan worked as a telescope operator for Subaru Telescope atop Maunakea, assisting with coronagraph design for SCExAO. He hopes to further develop his love for instrumentation while at the IfA.

Outside of astronomy, Aidan likes to spend his free time outdoors – hiking, biking, and rock climbing. He also enjoys working on cars, eating fish, and browsing farmers markets. He looks forward most to receiving a Lifetime National Park Pass in 38 years, when he turns 62.

699-1 – A Very Wide Field Wavefront Sensor

During his first year at the IfA, Aidan worked with Mark Chun to investigate the feasibility of a very wide field wavefront sensor. The goal was to develop a low-cost, easy-to-use device that relies solely on natural guide stars. When paired with the next-generation adaptive secondary mirrors currently under development by Mark Chun, this sensor could enable local correction adaptive optics on small to medium-sized telescopes. The system has the potential to enhance image quality by factors of a few across all existing telescope instruments, offering a practical path to GLAO for observatories unable to support laser guide stars.