About Me
About Me
I'm a gravitational wave astrophysicist at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) and a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.
Working under the supervision of Reed Essick, my research lies at the intersection of gravitational wave astrophysics and statistical inference.
I develop and apply hierarchical Bayesian inference methods to populations of gravitational wave sources to extract robust insights about the Universe from noisy, incomplete data.
- Email:
utkarsh.mali@utoronto.ca
utkarsh.mali@ligo.org - Affiliations:
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA)
Department of Physics, University of Toronto
LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC - CITA) - Research Interests:
Gravitational Waves, Statistics, Compact Objects - Advisor:Reed Essick
Research
Research
Gravitational Wave Populations
Constraining compact binary populations using new and ongoing gravitational-wave observations.
Neutron Stars
Constraining neutron star structure through consistency between equations of state and gravitational-wave observations.
Gravitational Wave Cosmology
Probing cosmology with gravitational waves from binary mergers, using sub-structure in the detected mass distribution within the spectral sirens framework.
Statistics
Developing robust statistical frameworks to infer properties from noisy, incomplete data, addressing selection bias, model misspecification, and scalable inference.
Publications
Publications
PRD
Guesswork in the gap: the impact of uncertainty in the compact binary population on source classification
Utkarsh Mali & Reed Essick Mar 2026
Neutron star classifications near the lower mass gap shows sensitivity to population hyperparameters and EOS assumptions, yielding broad P(NS) uncertainty despite data.
PRD
Compact binary coalescence sensitivity estimates with injection campaigns during the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaborations' fourth observing run
Reed Essick et al. (incl. Utkarsh Mali) Nov 2025
Sensitivity estimates for compact binary coalescence detection during the fourth observing run.
PRD
Astrophysical constraints on neutron star f-modes
Sailesh Mohanty, Utkarsh Mali et al. Oct 2024
Modeling of NS oscillation modes across non-parametric EOS improves frequency predictions, enabling more robust inference of dynamical tides in NS mergers.
Sensors
Using Multimodal FTIR Spectroscopy: A Foundation for Future Authentication Strategies
Dung Ho et al. (incl. Utkarsh Mali) Dec 2019
Infrared spectroscopy with PCA reveals intrinsic microscale heterogeneity motivating multidimensional authentication frameworks. (Undergraduate Research)
(arXiv) ApJ
GWTC-4.0: Population Properties of Merging Compact Binaries
LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (incl. Utkarsh Mali) Oct 2025
Population properties of merging compact binaries during the fourth observing run.
ApJ
Striking a Chord with Spectral Sirens: multiple features in the compact binary population correlate with H₀
Utkarsh Mali & Reed Essick April 2025
Spectral sirens show multiple mass features correlate with the expansion rate. The 9 and 32 solar mass peaks independently constrain cosmology, with model-independent statistics mitigating population systematics.
SSC21-WKII
HERON: Demonstrating a Novel Biological Platform for Small Satellite Missions
Dylan Vogel et al. (incl. Utkarsh Mali) Jul 2021
We engineered and deployed the HERON CubeSat to study gene expression in low earth orbit, enabling low cost, open source biosatellite architectures. (Undergraduate Work)
Teaching
Teaching
Introduction to Physics I Teaching Assistant, PHY131
Anonymous Student Feedback:
"I thought practicals were extremely fun and helped stimulate my learning and understanding of physics"
"Really great, extremely helpful and encouraging"
"I think the practicals were the best part of physics for me. Both instructors are awesome people that you should cherish."
"Excellent TA, very helpful, kind and approachable. Passionate about teaching students"
"Introduction to Physics II" Teaching Assistant, PHY132
Anonymous Student Feedback:
"Probably one of the best TAs I have had in my entire university experience."
"Utkarsh is an extremely helpful and thought-provoking TA. He is awesome, and his passion for physics is apparent in every one of his explanations to students. I greatly appreciate all of his help during the PHY132 practicals this semester."
"Physics II" Teaching Assistant, PHY152
Anonymous Student Feedback:
"Utkarsh is good at explaining concepts and very kind."
"Great job especially with helping for problem sets, very good at helping me understand and not just showing the answers."
"Very helpful and approachable!"
Service
Service
