CV

Cailin Plunkett

View PDF (July 2026)

Research Interests

Probing black hole properties and binary star evolution using gravitational-wave data. Emphasis on both data-driven and simulation-based methods.

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Cambridge, MA
Ph.D. candidate in Physics (advisor: Salvatore Vitale)
Aug. 2023 – present (expected May 2028)

Amherst College — Amherst, MA
B.A. in Physics and Mathematics
Summa cum laude with distinction (GPA: 4.0/4.0) Sept. 2019 – May 2023

Awards, Fellowships, and Honors

National

  • Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation (2025–28)
  • LeRoy Apker Award, American Physical Society (2023)
  • Phi Beta Kappa Membership (2023)
  • Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship (2022)

Institutional

  • Kellogg Fellowship ($130,000 over three years), Amherst College (2025–28)
  • Three Minute Thesis, People’s Choice Award, Amherst College (2023)
  • Bancroft Prize in Public Speaking, Amherst College (2023)
  • William Warren Stifler Prize in Physics, Amherst College (2023)
  • Mary Dailey Irvine Outstanding Thesis, Five College Astronomy Dept. (2023)
  • Summer Research Fellowship, University of Michigan (2022)
  • LIGO Summer Research Fellowship, Caltech (2021)
  • Porter Prize in Astronomy, Amherst College (2020)

Publications

  1. C. Plunkett, T. Callister, M. Zevin, S. Vitale.
    “Signatures of a subpopulation of hierarchical mergers in the GWTC-4 gravitational-wave dataset”.
    Physical Review Letters 137, 021404 (2026).
    Highlighted as a Phys. Rev. Lett. Editors’ Suggestion, covered in a Physics Viewpoint, and written up in Astrobites.

  2. M. Mould, J. Heinzel, S. Álvarez-López, C. Plunkett, N. Wolfe, S. Vitale.
    “Measurement prospects for the pair-instability mass cutoff with gravitational waves.”
    Physical Review D 113, 103021 (2026).

  3. C. Plunkett, M. Mould, S. Vitale.
    “Constraining Population III stellar populations with next-generation gravitational-wave observatories”.
    Physical Review D 112, 023039 (2025).

  4. C. Plunkett, K. Follette, G.-D. Marleau, E. Nielsen.
    “Accreting companion occurrence rates using a new method to compute emission-line survey sensitivity”.
    Astronomical Journal 169, 262 (2025).

  5. C. Plunkett, S. Hourihane, K. Chatziioannou.
    “Concurrent estimation of noise and compact-binary signal parameters in gravitational-wave data”.
    Physical Review D 106, 104021 (2022).

  6. S. Betti et al., including C. Plunkett.
    “The Comprehensive Archive of Substellar and Planetary Accretion Rates.”
    Astronomical Journal 166, 262 (2023).

Presentations

AAS 248 Summer Meeting (invited talk, special session) — Pasadena, CA
Next-generation gravitational-wave observatories: astrophysics with compact binaries across cosmic time
June 2026

Caltech LIGO Seminar — Pasadena, CA
Black hole formation histories with gravitational waves across cosmic time
June 2026

APS Global Physics Summit (contributed talk) — Denver, CO
What we talk about when we talk about hierarchical mergers
Mar. 2026

WPI Physics — Worcester, MA
Panelist, Women and Gender Minorities in Physics
Feb. 2026

University of Tokyo RESCEU Seminar — Tokyo, JP
Black hole populations with gravitational waves: then, now, and the future
Jan. 2026

APS Global Physics Summit (contributed talk) — Anaheim, CA
Unveiling the stellar origins of high-redshift black hole mergers with next-generation gravitational-wave observatories
Mar. 2025

APS April Meeting (invited talk) — Sacramento, CA
Protoplanet population properties: a new method to compute survey sensitivity
Apr. 2024

APS April Meeting (contributed talk) — New York, NY
Marginalizing over noise uncertainty in gravitational-wave parameter estimation
Apr. 2022

Leadership, Outreach, and Engagement

MIT Physics Graduate Admissions Advisory Council
Jan. 2024 – present

  • Co-chair (since Aug. 2025) of an advisory council aiming to improve equity in admissions and ensure all talented students receive due consideration.
  • Organize and mentor for an application assistance program, through which I have individually supported 8+ students.

MIT Summer Research Program
Jan. 2024 – present

  • Serve on admissions committee for a summer program targeting students with limited access to research.
  • Improve access to career preparation and networking resources.

Climate and Community Committee
Oct. 2020 – May 2023

  • Co-chair of Physics and Astronomy Dept. committee charged with addressing systemic access issues and institutional barriers to success in physics and astronomy, both in and beyond the Department.

Spectra Physics & Astronomy Club
Sept. 2021 – May 2023

  • Ran a student support club in physics.
  • Designed and led a mentorship program and research internship symposium for two years.
  • Developed an application peer-review workshop.

Amherst Observatory
Sept. 2022 – May 2023

  • Student manager of the observatory, which hosts five telescopes for teaching and recreation.
  • Led training sessions and programmed middle school outreach events.