abstract: Several key, open questions in astrophysics can be tackled by searching for and mining large datasets for transient phenomena. The evolution of massive stars and compact objects can be studied over cosmic time by identifying supernovae (SNe) and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in other galaxies and determining their redshifts. Modeling GRBs and their afterglows to probe the jets of GRBs can shed light on the emission mechanism, rate, and energetics of these events. In Chapter 1, I discuss the current state of astronomical transient study, including sources of interest, instrumentation, and data reduction techniques, with a focus on work in the infrared. In Chapter 2, I present original work published in the Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, testing InGaAs infrared detectors for astronomical use (Strausbaugh, Jackson, and Butler 2018); highlights of this work include observing the exoplanet transit of HD189773B, and detecting the nearby supernova SN2016adj with an InGaAs detector mounted on a small telescope at ASU. In Chapter 3, I discuss my work on GRB jets published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, highlighting the interesting case of GRB 160625B (Strausbaugh et al. 2019), where I interpret a late-time bump in the GRB afterglow lightcurve as evidence for a bright-edged jet. In Chapter 4, I present a look back at previous years of RATIR (Re-ionization And Transient Infra-Red Camera) data, with an emphasis on the efficiency of following up GRBs detected by the Fermi Space Telescope, before some final remarks and brief discussion of future work in Chapter 5. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physics 2019