David R. Miller

PhD Candidate

University of British Columbia
Physics & Astronomy

Welcome!

I am a PhD candidate in astronomy at the University of British Columbia, where I use white dwarfs in open clusters to study stellar evolution. My doctoral research is supervised by Jeremy Heyl and the late Harvey Richer. I received my MSc in Astronomy from UBC and my BSc in Honours Physics from Simon Fraser University. I expect to complete my PhD in 2027 and am currently seeking postdoctoral opportunities beginning in fall 2027.

My research broadly uses white dwarfs in open clusters to investigate stellar evolution. Much of my current work focuses on the initial-final mass relation: the connection between a star's initial mass and the white dwarf it eventually becomes. I make extensive use of data from the Gaia space telescope, along with spectroscopy and imaging from facilities including Gemini, CFHT, and the Hubble Space Telescope. I also maintain wdifmr.org , an online resource for observational measurements of the white dwarf initial-final mass relation. You can learn more about my research on the Research page, view my complete publication record on NASA ADS , and find recent updates in Latest News below.

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Latest News

  • : I presented an overview of my recent work on the white dwarf initial-final mass relation at the European Workshop on White Dwarfs (EuroWD) in Klosterneuburg, Austria.

  • : Our Hubble Space Telescope program, Hidden in Plain Sight? Unraveling the Potential Merger Histories of Ultra-Massive White Dwarfs in the Initial-Final Mass Relation was accepted, with Steffani Grondin and me serving as Co-PIs.

  • : Our paper Investigating the Observational Progenitor Mass Gap in the White Dwarf Initial-Final Mass Relation. I. Cluster Census and Characterization of the First White Dwarfs in the Gap was accepted by The Astrophysical Journal and is now available.

  • : The White Dwarf Population of Open Clusters and Their Tidal Tails: Tracers of Contamination and Stellar Interactions, led by Vikrant Jadhav and with me as a coauthor, was accepted for publication.

  • : Huahui Yan's Escaped White Dwarf Candidates from Open Clusters, on which I am a coauthor, was accepted by The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.

  • : I spoke about stellar evolution at the H. R. MacMillan Space Centre as part of its monthly Space Camp Saturdays series.

  • : Gemini awarded observing time for our program Spectroscopic Confirmation of Escaped High-Mass White Dwarfs for the Cluster Initial-Final Mass Relation.

  • : Gemini accepted our queue program Tracing Contamination and Stellar Interactions in the White Dwarf Populations of Open Clusters and Their Tidal Tails for observations.

  • : CFHT approved our program Probing the Mass Gap in the White Dwarf Initial-Final Mass Relation with the Rich Intermediate-Aged Open Cluster NGC 2360.

  • : We were awarded Gemini observing time for FT program Expanding the High-Mass End of the Cluster White Dwarf Initial-Final Mass Relation.

  • : I took part in Science Rendezvous with a talk on stellar evolution, as part of the Canada-wide science outreach festival hosted at universities and institutions across the country.

  • : Searching for White Dwarf Candidates Formed Through Binary Evolution in Star Clusters, led by Huahui Yan and with me as a coauthor, was accepted by The Astrophysical Journal.

  • : Gemini accepted our program Probing Accelerated Cooling and Formation in a White Dwarf Binary from a Young Open Cluster.

  • : Our comprehensive study of the white dwarf initial-final mass relation, The White Dwarf Initial-Final Mass Relation from Open Clusters in Gaia DR3, was published in The Astrophysical Journal, with the accompanying data now available through the CDS VizieR catalogue.