Hello! I’m Dr. Abigail (Abbie) Stevens, a National Science Foundation Astronomy & Astrophysics postdoctoral fellow at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. I use rapid variability signals (called quasi-periodic oscillations, or QPOs) coming from material in the strong gravitational field close to neutron stars and stellar black holes, to probe how matter behaves in extreme environments and look for signatures of general relativity. The above image is an artist’s depiction of an X-ray binary, in which a black hole or neutron star slowly drains and “eats” a normal star like our Sun (credit: ESO/L. Caçada).

Site map (in alphabetical order):

• About – my personal background
• Blog – updated occasionally, usually with an academic/scientific slant
• Contact – many ways to contact me!
• CV – my academic curriculum vitae
• Mental wellbeing in academia – advice, hotlines, and other resources
  • Studies of mental wellbeing among graduate students – useful ammunition when pushing for change in your department
  • Mental health at MSU – MSU-specific resources
• Outreach – opportunities for education and public outreach with me
• Research – a description of my astronomy research for non-scientists
  • Coding resources – links for getting started with software development for astronomy research and X-ray data analysis