Summary of Research
Gravitational waves (GWs) are fluctuations in spacetime generated by the motion of massive objects. Ground-based interferometers, such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), have been routinely detecting high-frequency mergers of binary black holes for the past decade, and upcoming experiments promise access to entirely new GW frequency regimes. In 2023, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) collaboration announced strong evidence for a nanohertz GW background, most likely due to a population of millions of supermassive binary black holes, using 15 years of pulsar timing observations from 67 pulsars.
I aim to probe the GW background at microhertz frequencies using astrometry, the precision measurement of stellar positions from space-based observatories like the Kepler Space Telescope. In particular, I will collaborate with scientists in NANOGrav to study the frequency range where the sensitivity of the pulsar timing and astrometric approaches overlap. While the underlying mathematics is similar in both methods, astrometry requires analyzing roughly 200,000 sources with double the spatial degrees of freedom, substantially increasing the computational demands.
Publications
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS:
B. Nhan, C. De Pree, A. Beasley, M. Whitehead, K. Ryan, D. Faes, T. Chamberlin, D. Pattison, V. Catlett, A. Lawson, D. Bautista, S. Wasik, D. Dueri, M. Iverson, J. Donenfeld, B. Schepis, and D. Goldstein. "ODS: A self-reporting system for radio telescopes to coexist with adaptive satellite constellations," IEEE Communications Magazine, November 2025.
J. Turner, T. Dolch, J. Cordes, S. Ocker, D. Stinebring, S. Chatterjee, M. McLaughlin, V. Catlett, C. Jessup, and N. Jones. "A Cyclic Spectroscopy Scintillation Study of PSR B1937+21 I. Demonstration of Improved Scintillometry," The Astrophysical Journal, August 2024.
A. Stroe, V. Catlett, J. Harwood, T. Vernstrom, and B. Mingo. "The Host Galaxies of Hybrid Morphology Radio Sources," The Astrophysical Journal, December 2022.
B. Kidder, G. Mace, R. Lopez-Valdivia, K. Sokal, V. Catlett, M. Gutierrez, B. Tofflemire, and D. Jaffe. "The IGRINS YSO Survey II: Veiling Spectra of Pre-main-sequence Stars in Taurus-Auriga," The Astrophysical Journal, November 2021.
M. Fong, M. Choi, V. Catlett, B. Lee, A. Peel, R. Bowyer, L. King, and I. McCarthy. "The impact of baryonic physics and massive neutrinos on weak lensing peak statistics," Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, September 2019.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS:
M. Gutierrez, V. Catlett, B. Tofflemire, G. Mace, and A. Kraus. "Constraining Temperature and Density of Accretion Flows in T Tauri Stars from Brackett Line Ratios," Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, January 2020.
V. Catlett, M. Gutierrez, B. Tofflemire, G. Mace, B. Kidder, and A. Kraus. "Near-infrared Accretion Diagnostics of Young Stellar Objects," Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, December 2019.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS:
V. Catlett. "Reducing Starlink Interference with Observatory Data Sharing," 2025 Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Symmetries (N3AS) Workshop, July 2025.
V. Catlett and J. Frothingham. "Enhanced Sensor Monitoring with FFTs," Green Bank Observatory Internal Symposium, November 2023.
V. Catlett. "Enhanced GBT Monitoring," Green Bank Observatory Internal Symposium, May 2023.
V. Catlett and A. Stroe. "How Host-Galaxy Properties Influence Jet Formation in Hybrid Morphology Radio Sources," 241st Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, January 2023.
V. Catlett and A. Stroe. "The Host Galaxies of Hybrid Morphology Radio Sources (HyMoRS)," Green Bank Observatory Internal Symposium, October 2022.
V. Catlett and A. Stroe. "The Host Galaxies of Hybrid Morphology Radio Sources (HyMoRS)," Texas Section of the American Physical Society Meeting, March 2022.
V. Catlett and A. Stroe. "The Host Galaxies of Hybrid Morphology Radio Sources (HyMoRS)," Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Summer Research Symposium, August 2021.
V. Catlett and C. Baranec. "A Graphical User Interface for Wavefront Sensors," The University of Hawaii (Manoa) Astronomy REU Research Symposium, August 2020.
POSTER PRESENTATIONS:
V. Catlett, K. Purcell, J. Frothingham, E. Smith, T. Chamberlin, L. Morgan, and N. Sizemore. "WOAH: Enhanced Monitoring of the Green Bank Telescope," 243rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, January 2024.
V. Catlett and L. King. "Gravitationally-Lensed Gravitational Waves in Pulsar Timing Arrays," UTD Undergraduate Research Scholar Award Symposium, May 2022.
V. Catlett and C. Baranec. "A Graphical User Interface for Robo-AO-2," The University of Hawaii (Manoa) Summer Research Symposium, August 2020.
V. Catlett, M. Gutierrez, B. Tofflemire, G. Mace, B. Kidder, and A. Kraus. "Near-infrared Accretion Diagnostics of Young Stellar Objects," TX/AZ/NM section of the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP), January 2020.
V. Catlett, M. Gutierrez, B. Tofflemire, G. Mace, B. Kidder, and A. Kraus. "Near-infrared Accretion Diagnostics of Young Stellar Objects," 235th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, January 2020.
V. Catlett, M. Gutierrez, B. Tofflemire, G. Mace, B. Kidder, and A. Kraus. "Near-infrared Accretion Diagnostics of Young Stellar Objects," UT Austin Summer Research Symposium, August 2019.
V. Catlett, M. Fong, M. Choi, and L. King. "Mapping Dark Matter Halos with Gravitational Lensing," Texas Advanced Computing Center Symposium for Texas Researchers, September 2018.
V. Catlett, M. Fong, M. Choi, and L. King. "Mapping Dark Matter Halos with Gravitational Lensing," Clark Summer Research Symposium, August 2018.
Awards
FELLOWSHIPS & SCHOLARSHIPS:
[2025] OSU Provost's Distinguished Graduate Fellowship
[2018] UTD National Merit Scholarship
[2018] Jerry Junkins Memorial Scholarship (Texas Instruments)
ACADEMIC AWARDS:
[2022] "Best Undergraduate Presentation" Award (TX Section of APS)
[2021] Outstanding Service Award (Society of Physics Students)
[2020, 2021] UTD Undergraduate Research Scholar Award
[2020] "Best Sustainable Hack" Award (TAMU Hack)
[2020] "Best Poster" Award (TX/AZ/NM CUWiP)
[2019] Goldman Sachs Challenge Winner (TAMU Datathon)
[2018] National AP Scholar
[2018] National Merit Scholar
[2018] U.S. Presidential Scholar Semifinalist
[2018] Allen High School Salutatorian
TRAVEL GRANTS:
[2025] Einstein Toolkit Workshop Travel Award
[2019] Society of Physics Students (SPS) Travel Grant
[2019] Cyrus D. Cantrell III Academic Travel Award (from Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 316)