About Me

Hi, I'm Jonathan! I'm an astrophyscist working at Dartmouth College with Ryan Hickox. Outside of astronomy, I am a lapsed violinist and former figure skater. Read on to learn more about me!

Gender and sexualityPicture of Taylor Hutchison (left) and Jonathan (right) at a Pride event in 2022.
Taylor Hutchison (left) and Jonathan (right) at a Pride event in College Station, TX, in 2022.

I am agender, genderfluid, genderqueer, and more broadly non-binary. For me, this just means not fitting into the binary of "male" or "female." Science has made clear that very few things in the Universe are perfect binaries, and gender is no exception. The idea of gender being a binary is a social construct rather than an intrinsic universal truth, and neither "male" nor "female" is a good match for me and how I express myself. I don't use just one set of pronouns: you can describe me using "he," "she," and/or "they." I recommend switching it up whenever you're talking about me, instead of just sticking to one!

Similarly, sex and sexuality also exist as spectra, rather than binaries. I identify as being somewhere on the spectrum of pansexual. It took a while for me to understand my gender identity and sexuality, and I'm still learning! It's important for me to be open about my identity, especially given recent attacks on queer people.

Violin

Music has always been very important to me. I took lessons in the Suzuki method at the Webster Community Music School from ages 3-15, performing in violin school concerts, public school orchestras, and a Saint Louis youth orchestra. I haven't taken lessons since I was 15 years old, but I have practiced sporadaically ever since. My repertoire includes Baroque, Classical, and Romantic era music as well as traditional Celtic, American fiddle, and some pop.

Figure skatingPicture of Jonathan (left) and Kelsey Barnes (right) ice dancing.
Kelsey Barnes (right) and Jonathan (left) competing in Tango at the 2009 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships.

I trained as a figure skater from ages 6-17, competing in local and nationwide competitions. After a knee injury at 13 years old, I stopped competing in freestyle, but continued competing in ice dancing. When I was 14 years old, I moved to a training center for ice dancing in Dallas, TX, living with host families in the greater Dallas area for several years.

I am a U.S. Figure Skating Gold Medalist in Ice Dancing and Moves in the Field, and I competed at the Novice level in ice dancing. After my final figure skating season was shortened due to another injury, I quit skating to focus on starting college as a physics major at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Misc

In my free time, I love reading (mostly fiction, but some nonfiction). Some of my favorite authors right now are RF Kuang, CL Clark, NK Jemisin, Tasha Suri, Clint Smith, Octavia Butler, Ursula K Le Guin, and Indra Das. I'm also an avid writer, including short stories, novels, poetry, and roleplaying games.

I love running around outside, rock climbing, playing tabletop games and RPGs, watching soccer, and listening to all sorts of music.