I work on using Bayesian statistics and computational methods to infer information from astronomy time domain survey data. Currently, that has taken the form of trying to understand the population of black holes in our galaxy by using microlensing surveys (the magnification of the flux from a star by a massive, intervening object). However, my background is in gravitational wave data analysis and gravitational theory. I analyzed LIGO data and performed simulations to study the proposed LISA detector in order to infer the fundamental nature of the gravitational force. I was focused on finding observationally consistent extensions to general to solve outstanding problems in physics and astronomy. I am generally interested in extracting information from noisy datasets of all kinds as rigorously as possible. Typically, this involves numerical methods and HPC resources to solve difficult statistical problems.

Ph.D., Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois

M.S., Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana

B.S., Physics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

K. Schumacher, S. Perkins, A. Shaw, K. Yagi, N. Yunes, Gravitational wave constraints on Einstein-æther theory with LIGO/Virgo data, arXiv:2304.06801

C. B. Owen, C. Haster, S. Perkins, N. J. Cornish, N. Yunes, Waveform accuracy and systematic uncertainties in current gravitational wave observations, arXiv:2301.11941

Y. Xie, D. Chatterjee, G. Holder, D. E. Holz, S. Perkins, K. Yagi, N. Yunes, Breaking bad degeneracies with Love relations: Improving gravitational-wave measurements through universal relations, Phys. Rev. D 107, 043010 (2023). arXiv:2210.09386

S. Perkins, N. Yunes, Are parametrized tests of general relativity with gravitational waves robust to unknown higher post-Newtonian order effects?, Phys. Rev. D 105, 124047 (2022). arXiv:2201.02542

D. Chatterjee, A. R. R., G. Holder, D. E. Holz, S. Perkins, K. Yagi, N. Yunes, Cosmology with Love: Measuring the Hubble constant using neutron star universal relations, Phys. Rev. D 104, 083528 (2021). arXiv:2106.06589

S. E. Perkins, R. Nair, H. O. Silva, N. Yunes, Improved gravitational-wave constraints on higher-order curvature theories of gravity, Phys. Rev. D 104, 024060 (2021). arXiv:2104.11189

S. E. Perkins, N. Yunes, E. Berti, Probing Fundamental Physics with Gravitational Waves: The Next Generation, Phys. Rev. D 103, 044024 (2021). arXiv:2010.09010

R. Nair, S. Perkins, H. O. Silva, N. Yunes, Fundamental Physics Implications for Higher-Curvature Theories from Binary Black Hole Signals in the LIGO-Virgo Catalog GWTC-1, Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 191101 (2019). arXiv:1905.00870

S. Perkins, N. Yunes, Probing Screening and the Graviton Mass with Gravitational Waves, Class. Quant. Grav. 36, 055013 (2019). arXiv:1811.02533

For more updated lists, please see https://arxiv.org/a/perkins_s_1.html or https://inspirehep.net/authors/1726736

• CAPS Graduate Fellowship, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Scott Anderson Award, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Graduate Research Fellowship, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Graduate Meritorious Award, Montana State University

Please see my website for more details:

scottperkins.github.io