Hi, my name is Corey Beard and I’m an astrophysicist studying exoplanets at UC Irvine with professor Paul Robertson.

I grew up in Orange County, and I’ve lived here for most of my life. I did get out of my comfort zone a bit when I started attending UCLA in 2013, studying Physics. Outside of school, I worked as a barrista at Jimmy’s Coffeehouse on UCLA’s campus, in addition to participating in the Japanese club and the Bruin Film Society. I eventually studied abroad in Japan, where I got my first taste of scientific research: studying nanoparticles deposited on ionic liquids. The work I did was pretty far from what I would eventually study, but it was a highly important learning experience. More important than the science itself was learning how to navigate in a research environment, and I was lucky to work under the tutelage of Professor Tsuyohito Ito, an excellent mentor.

After graduating from UCLA with a B.S. in Physics in 2017, I took a year off to strengthen my graduate school applications. During this time, I had another great research experience working with Professor Daniel Whiteson at UCI, doing particle physics research.

I would eventually be accepted as a graduate student at UC Irvine, where I have since shifted to exoplanet astronomy: looking for planets around other stars. I’m in my 5th year now, and expect to graduate in late 2023. I’m already thinking a lot about what comes next in my career.

Interests

I’m a big fan of Dungeons and Dragons and fantasy in general, but I also like to get outdoors and snowboard or wakeboard. I love music of all kinds, and am an amateur guitarist and singer.

You’ll often find me playing video games in my free time, I’m a big fan of single-player role playing games like the Legend of Zelda, but I dabble in online competitive games from time to time.