I will first talk about the discovery of a pair of gigantic bubbles in our Galaxy
using data from Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and the multi-wavelength
observations on this so called "Fermi bubble" structure. Our numerical simulation
demonstrates that the bubble structure could be evidence for past accretion events
of the central supermassive black hole. I will then summarize the current state of dark
matter search with Fermi data, with the focus on gamma-ray line searching from the
Galactic center, galaxy clusters, and dwarf galaxies. I will explain why we got extremely
excited in 2012 with a tentative gamma-ray line signal from the Galactic center. We have
recently proposed to change the survey strategy of Fermi to increase the exposure at
the Galactic center by more than a factor of 2. This new survey strategy has been
initiated since December 2013 and will last for at least one year. I will end up with a
discussion of future gamma-ray space missions.

Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful known explosions in the universe.  These enigmatic events are thought to the be due to the collapse of a massive star, which radiates energy roughly equivalent to the rest mass energy of the Sun in the matter of seconds.  The launch of the Fermi spacecraft in 2008 has opened a new window into the ultra high energy properties from these events.  I will review some of the recent discoveries made through Fermi observations of GRBs, ranging from limits to quantum gravity models to the recent detection of the brightest GRB ever observed, GRB 130427A.  The emission from this exceptional event was of sufficient energy and duration that it has challenged the fundamental assumptions regarding the particle acceleration and emission mechanisms thought to produce the high-energy gamma-ray from GRBs.

A fundamental challenge in cosmology and galaxy evolution is to understand how dark matter (DM) haloes influence the galaxies that form inside them. Unfortunately, the parts of this process that we can simulate well --- the growth of DM structures under the influence of gravity --- cannot be observed directly, while the observable stars and gas are difficult to simulate over large scales because of the complicated physics involved. My past research has focused on connecting the star formation histories of passive galaxies to their observed dynamical structure. Here, I will present two projects that tackle different aspects of the larger problem of galaxy evolution. The first is a new method for measuring weak gravitational lensing. This method uses a photometry-only analog to the Fundamental Plane of early type galaxies in order to measure magnification due to weak lensing. Combined with existing techniques based on gravitational shear, this method will produce the most direct measurements of dark matter haloes around ordinary galaxies, allowing us to connect observed galaxies with the dark matter haloes that host them. The second project uses detailed, resolved galaxy kinematics and stellar population gradients in local massive galaxies to trace their assembly history. The goal is to isolate contributions from in situ star formation, major versus minor mergers, and the possible large-scale stripping of globular clusters. I will present a pilot study of M87, which is the first of several dozen local galaxies we ultimately aim to analyze.