Research Intersts
1. Instrumentation
As mentioned above, it is very difficult to view astronomical objects with mm-wave light because there are many sources of intervening (or "foreground") emission. These observations are challenging for several other reasons as well. Due to the difficulties involved, developing instruments and techniques for mm-wave astronomy is a vibrant research area. This was the research I worked on while at the University of Chicago as a postdoctoral fellow (2002-2005). Here is a link to that research. Due to my continued interest in this area, I plan to contribute to this type of research -- developing technology and methods for mm-wave observations -- in the future.
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2. Mm-wave Observations
I have also worked on making mm-wave astronomical observations. As a postdoctoral scholar the the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2005-2008), I helped install and operate a camera sensitive to mm-waves on telescopes at high-altitude sites in Hawaii and Chile. This instrument, named AzTEC, has since discovered many new astronomical objects that are bright at mm wavelengths. I am part of the AzTEC collaboration and have contributed to the analysis of astronomical data from this instrument. Here is a link to AzTEC . My recent publications involving AzTEC can be found there. I am presently working on developing and characterizing data analysis tools for AzTEC. One IWU physics major has contributed to this research thus far. I hope to involve more students in this work in the near future.
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3. Laboratory Astrophysics
Before arriving at IWU, I worked on instrumentation and observations aimed at studying dusty regions of space using mm wavelengths. Once here, I decided to pursue a third research direction: the study of cosmic dust analogs in the lab. In particular, I am interested in the emission and absorption of mm-wave light by these dust species at astronomically relevant temperatures (20 to 80 Kelvin or -253 to -193 Celsius). These dust species are called cosmic dust analogs because no one knows the exact constitution of dust in various astronomical environments. Therefore, I will study a variety of hypothesized dust species. They include carbonaceous grains such a graphite as well as various silicate species.
This type of research is classified as Laboratory Astrophysics because it aims to study astronomically interesting objects/samples in the lab. This has been my main research direction since the beginning 2011. So far, I have designed and ordered a cryostat (a very cold refrigerator) that can be cooled to 4 Kelvin (-269 Celsius). The dust samples and mm-wave light detector will be cooled down within this cryostat. Four IWU physics students have thus far participated in getting the cryostat ready for its first cooldown. We carried out the first successful diagnostic cooldown of this cryostat in December 2011. With help from more interested students, our next cooldown will include the mm-wave detector and a dust sample. Below are several pictures of the cryostat and related apparatus.