Peyton Benac: Home

Hi! I’m Peyton, a fourth year graduate student studying astrophysics at UCLA with advisor Prof. Michael Fitzgerald. I currently work in the UCLA IR lab, primarily focused on the testing and characterization of the detector systems for the upcoming integral field spectrograph and imager for Keck Observatory, SCALES. My research interests include high-contrast direct imaging of exoplanets and protoplanetary disks, optical & infrared instrumentation, and interferometric observations of circumstellar disks. I am also a trained instructor for test-taking strategies and ESL students. My personal passions include educational equity, union organizing, indie music, and good food.