Astronomy and Astrophysics

2011-12 General Catalog

Department Office 201
Interdisciplinary Sciences Building
(831) 459-2844
http://www.astro.ucsc.edu

Program Description | Course Descriptions



Faculty and Professional Interests

Professor/Astronomer

Rebecca Bernstein  

Galaxy formation and evolution, astronomical instrumentation and optical design

Peter H. Bodenheimer, Emeritus

Michael J. Bolte  

Dynamics of star clusters, ages of star clusters, chemical enrichment history of the galaxy, observations of interacting galaxies

Jean P. Brodie  

Extragalactic globular clusters, galaxy formation, near-field cosmology

Harland W. Epps  

Astronomical optics and instrumentation

Sandra M. Faber  

Galaxies, stellar populations, cosmology, instrumentation

Puragra (Raja) GuhaThakurta  

Galaxy formation and evolution: resolved stellar populations in the Local Group and distant galaxies. Globular clusters. Interstellar dust.

Garth D. Illingworth  

High redshift galaxies, galaxy formation/evolution, science policy

Burton F. Jones, Emeritus

David C. Koo  

Cosmology, birth and evolution of galaxies and quasars

Robert P. Kraft, Emeritus

Claire Max

Adaptive optics and high spatial resolution imaging, colliding galaxies, active galactic nuclei and their supermassive black holes

Joseph S. Miller, Emeritus

Jerry E. Nelson

Design and construction of large telescopes; project scientist for the two Keck telescope and Thirty Meter telescope

Jason Prochaska

Damped Lya systems in quasars, Lyman limit systems, stellar abundances, thick disk imaging of our galaxy

David M. Rank, Emeritus

Constance Rockosi

Galactic structure, stellar populations, CCD detectors, astronomical instrumentation

Graeme H. Smith

Stellar populations, chromospheric activity among late-type stars

Steven S. Vogt

Extrasolar planets, stellar, spectroscopy, instrumentation

Merle F. Walker, Emeritus

Astronomer

Lloyd B. Robinson, Emeritus

Professor

George R. Blumenthal

Cosmology, galaxy formation, high-energy astrophysics

Frank D. Drake, Emeritus

John Faulkner, Emeritus

Gregory Laughlin

Extra-solar planets, numerical astrophysics

Douglas N. C. Lin

Fluid dynamics, star formation, galactic structure, planetary systems, accretion disks, extra-solar planets

Piero Madau

Cosmology, high-energy astrophysics

Bruce H. Margon

High-energy astrophysics, space astronomy

William G. Mathews, Research Professor

High-energy astrophysics, intracluster gas

Stanford E. Woosley

supernovae, stellar evolution, nucleosynthesis

Associate Professor

Jonathan Fortney

Planetary atmospheres and interiors, extrasolar planets

Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz

Stellar explosions, gamme-ray bursts accretion physics, near compact stars

Assistant Professor

Mark Krumholz

tar formation, interstellar medium, numerical methods

Lecturer

Adriane Steinacker

Planet formation, MHD simulations

♦ ♦ ♦

Professor

Joel R. Primack (Physics)  

Cosmology, galaxy, formation and evolution, particle astrophysics, nature of dark matter, gamma ray astronomy

Gary Glatzmaier (Earth and Planetary Sciences)  

Computer simulation of geodynamics and planetary dynamics

Steven Ritz (Physics)  

Particle physics and astrophysics

Associate Professor

Anthony N. Aguirre (Physics)  

Cosmology of the early and late universe: inflation and the global structure of cosmological models; the intergalactic medium and its enrichment with heavy elements; galaxy formation, evolution, and feedback processes; dark matter; theories of modified gravity

Pascale Garaud (Applied Mathematics)

Astrophysics, geophysics, fluid dynamics, numerical resolutions of differential equations, and mathematical modeling of natural flows

David M. Smith (Physics)

High-energy astrophysics; X-ray and gamma-ray detectors and instrumentation; solar, terrestrial, and planetary sources of gamma radiation

Research Astronomer

Bruce Bigelow

Design, project management for complex optical-mechanical systems, astronomical instrumentation for large telescopes

Donald Gavel

Development of next generation adaptive optics for large telescopes, Director of Laboratory for Adaptive Optics

Brad Holden

Design, development, and oversight of UC Astronomy Data Center (all data obtained by UC astronomers at the Lick and Keck Observatories), early evolution of elliptical galaxies

Robert Kibrick

Development of computer software and wide-area networks in support of remote control and data-acquisition systems for telescopes and comlex astronomical instrumentation systems

Terry Mast

Development of large telescopes and their instrumentation

Drew Phillips

Extragalactic star-formation, gas-phase abundances, galaxy kinematics, and galaxy formation and evolutions; development of astronomical optics and instrumentation

Richard Stover

Development and construction of state-of-the-art detector systems for instruments at Lick Observatory and the Keck Observatory

Mingzhi Wei

CD detectors and CCD controllers

[return to top]

Revised: 8/13/12