I'm Noah Tuchow, an NPP Postdoctoral Fellow at NASA Goddard. I work on precursor science for the next generation of future space-based missions to directly image exoplanets. I'm currently compiling a preliminary input catalog for the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory, gathering the target stars where it might be possible to directly image Earth-sized planets around, and computing their stellar properties. We plan to use this input catalog for exoplanet yield studies and other trade studies to assess which mission designs for the Habitable Worlds Observatory have the best science output.
I also research the long-term habitability of exoplanets and how stars and their habitable zones evolve in time. For my thesis research at Penn State, I worked with Professor Jason Wright to develop a mathematical framework to determine which stars are the best candidates to host planets with biosignatures. I have also done research in a variety of other areas including exoplanet transit timing variations, searching for high proper motion brown dwarfs, and applied optics for airborne remote sensing.