Research Overview
The astronomy community is preparing to collect stunningly detailed multi-wavelength maps of the sky, and new data analysis methods are needed to take advantage of such rich data. To address this, powerful new machine learning techniques are being developed. But moving from traditional data analysis to modern machine learning is a shift in our scientific approach, and the shift requires us to ask an important question: Can we trust the black box? My research meets this need by creating the machine learning methods for interpreting huge volumes of cosmological data. My research also builds trust in those methodologies: rather than using machine learning as a black box, I develop novel interpretation schemes so that the techniques can be understood, trusted, and applied with confidence.
Selected Publications
See all publications: Google Scholar, arXiv, ADS, ORCiD.
A Hybrid Deep Learning Approach to Cosmological Constraints From Galaxy Redshift Surveys.
Michelle Ntampaka}, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Sandy Yuan, Lehmann Garrison.
2020 Astrophysical Journal, 889.
A Deep Learning Approach to Galaxy Cluster X-ray Masses.
Michelle Ntampaka, John ZuHone, Daniel Eisenstein, Daisuke Nagai, Alexey Vikhlinin, Lars Hernquist, Federico Marinacci, Dylan Nelson, Ruediger Pakmor, Annalisa Pillepich, Paul Torrey, and Mark Vogelsberger.
2019 Astrophysical Journal, 876, 82.
Machine Learning Applied to the Reionization History of the Universe.
Paul La Plante and Michelle Ntampaka.
arXiv preprint:1810.08211.
The Velocity Distribution Function of Galaxy Clusters as a Cosmological Probe.
Michelle Ntampaka, Hy Trac, Jessi Cisewski, and Layne C. Price.
2017 Astrophysical Journal, 835, 1.
Dynamical Mass Measurements of Contaminated Galaxy Clusters Using Machine Learning.
Michelle Ntampaka, Hy Trac, Dougal J. Sutherland, Sebastien Fromenteau, Barnabas Poczos, and Jeff Schneider.
2016 Astrophysical Journal, 831, 2.
A Machine Learning Approach for Dynamical Mass Measurements of Galaxy Clusters.
Michelle Ntampaka, Hy Trac, Dougal J. Sutherland, Nicholas Battaglia, Barnabas Poczos, and Jeff Schneider.
2015 Astrophysical Journal, 803, 50.