Catherine Whiting, PhD, teaches introductory and sophomore-level physics and astronomy courses, as well as upper level advanced courses such as General Relativity. In her class, students develop problem-solving skills through active participation, collaboration and in-depth projects. They explore the fascinating nature of the universe while learning how everyday phenomena can be understood through fundamental physical principles.
Whiting's research explores extensions of Einstein's General Relativity, with applications to the early universe, black holes and open questions in cosmology.
More recently, she has been working with CMU students to search for exoplanets using the transit method, which involves monitoring the brightness of stars and detecting the slight dimming that occurs when a planet passes in front of its host star. CMU participates in a partnership with the U.S. Air Force Academy's Falcon Telescope Network—an array of 13 research-grade telescopes located around the world, including one at the local Grand Mesa Observatory. This work is supported by a NASA grant that provides funding for undergraduate student research in exoplanet detection and analysis as part of NASA's Exoplanet Watch citizen science program.