Radio and Geoastronomy

Research in the SAO Radio and Geoastronomy Division includes studies of a wide range of astrophysical phenomena. Division staff operate the Submillimeter Array (SMA), an eight-element interferometer used for high-resolution observations of celestial objects at submillimeter wavelengths. Other facilities include a small millimeter wavelength telescope dedicated to mapping emission from molecular clouds in the Milky Way. Astronomical observations are also carried out with major national and international radio telescopes, including the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, the NRAO Very Large Array and Very Long Baseline Array, the IRAM 30-m Telescope and Plateau de Bure interferometer, and the South Pole Telescope. Astronomical research programs involve investigations of the structure of the Milky Way, the evolution of galaxies, the formation of stars, the formation of planets in circumstellar disks, the physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium, circumstellar and interstellar masers, planetary and cometary atmospheres, and the epoch of reionization. In addition, Division astronomers are leading the development of the Event Horizon Telescope, to directly image the immediateenvironment of a black hole, taking advantage of technological advances in very long baseline interferometry at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths
RESEARCH STAFF

ANDREWS, Sean M., Astrophysicist. B.A. (1997) Northwestern University; M.S. (2003), Ph.D. (2007) University of Hawaii. Research specialties: circumstellar disks, planet formation, aperture synthesis observations, radiative transfer modeling.

BLUNDELL, Raymond, Director, Submillimeter Array. B.S. (1974), Ph.D. (1980) University of Leeds. Research specialties: Millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave techniques and instrumentation for radio-astronomy; THz spectral line astronomy.

BOURKE, Tyler, Astronomer. B.Sc. (1989) Australian National University, M.Sc. (1994), Ph.D. (1999) University of New South Wales. Research specialties: Low-mass star formation; Evolution of dense cores, protostars and protoplanetary disks; Submillimeter interferometry.

DAME, Thomas M., Radio Astronomer. B.A. (1976) Boston University; M.A. (1978), Ph.D. (1983) Columbia University. Research specialties: Molecular clouds and star formation; galactic structure.

GOTTLIEB, Carl, Astrophysicist. Sc.B. (1963) Lawrence College; Ph.D. (1969) University of Chicago. Research specialties: Laboratory astrophysics; interstellar molecules.

GREENHILL, Lincoln J., Radio Astronomer. B.S. (1984) Massachusetts Institute of Technology; M.A. (1985), Ph.D. (1990) Harvard University. Research specialties: Cosmology-the epoch of reionization (instrumentation/observation), extragalactic distance scale; AGN-structures < 1 pc from supermassive black holes; high-mass star formation-innermost 1000 AU; late-type stars-circumstellar shells; masers.

GRIMES, Paul K., Physicist. B.A.(2001), M.Sc. (2001), Ph.D. (2006) University of Cambridge. Research specialties: Millimeter and submillimeter receivers for radioastronomy.

GURWELL, Mark Andrew, Astrophysicist. Sc.B. (1990) University of Washington; Sc.M. (1992), Ph.D. (1996) California Institute of Technology. Research specialties: Milimeter/submillimeter-wave spectroscopy of planets and planetary atmospheres; planetary atmospheric evolution; KBO temperature and size measurements; interferometry; mm/submm observing techniques and absolute flux calibration; detection of high-z galaxies (‘submm galaxies’); long-term quasar monitoring.

HO, Paul T.P., Senior Astrophysicist. S.B. (1972), Ph.D. (1977) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research specialties: Spectral-line interferometry; star formation in external galaxies; galactic nuclei; interstellar medium; massive outflows; molecular clouds; formation of OB clusters; black holes; cosmology; radio astronomy; submillimeter array.

KETO, Eric R., Astrophysicist. B.A. (1979) Princeton University; Ph.D. (1987) Harvard University. Research specialties: The interstellar medium; the formation of stars and star clusters.

LADA, Charles J., Senior Astrophysicist. B.A. (1971) Boston University; Ph.D. (1975) Harvard University. Research specialties: Star and planet formation; dense molecular clouds; bipolar molecular outflows; protoplanetary disks, extremely young star clusters; interstellar medium; infrared and millimeter-wave observational astronomy.

MORAN, James M., Senior Radio Astronomer; Professor of Astronomy, Harvard University. B.S. (1963) University of Notre Dame; S.M. (1965), Ph.D. (1968) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research specialties: Radio astronomy; very long-baseline interferometry; cosmic masers; star-formation studies; active galactic nuclei, black holes (especially the one in the center of the Milky Way).

MYERS, Philip C., Senior Astrophysicist; Lecturer on Astronomy, Harvard University. A.B. (1966) Columbia University; Ph.D. (1972) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research specialties: Radio astronomy; physical processes in molecular clouds and star formation; interstellar molecules; molecular spectroscopy; protostars; gravitational infall and condensation; formation of clusters.

PAINE, Scott N., Astrophysicist. B.S. (1984) California Institute of Technology; Ph.D. (1992) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research specialties: Millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave optics and instrumentation; Fourier transform spectroscopy; Atmospheric radiometry and radiative transfer modeling..

PATEL, Nimesh A., Radio Astronomer and General Engineer. M.Sc. (1984) Bombay University; Ph.D. (1990) Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Research specialties: Evolved stars; Molecular spectroscopy; Star formation; Astrophysical masers; Radio interferometry; Antenna pointing and metrology; instrumentation and software.

PEARLMAN, Michael R., Physicist. S.B. (1963) Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ph.D. (1968) Tufts University; S.M. (1980) MIT Sloan School of Management. Research specialties: Laser ranging to satellites; application of space techniques to precision geodesy for Earth Science.

PETITPAS, Glen R., Computer Engineer. B.Sc.(1995) St. Mary’s, NS; M.Sc. (1997), Ph.D.(2001) McMaster University, ON. Research specialties: Submillimeter Interferometry.

QI, Chunhua, Astrophysicist. B.S. (1995) Beijing University; Ph.D. (2001) California Institute of Technology. Research specialties: Star formation; protoplanetary disks; chemistry of young stellar objects; comets; interferometry.

REID, Mark J., Senior Radio Astronomer. B.A. (1971) University of California, San Diego; Ph.D. (1975) California Institute of Technology. Research specialties: Radio astronomy, including spectral-line very long-baseline interferometry; star formation; cosmic masers; active galactic nuclei and quasars; galactic structure and evolved stars.

STARK, Antony A., Astronomer. B.S. (1975) California Institute of Technology; M.A. (1977), Ph.D. (1979) Princeton University. Research specialties: Antarctic submillimeter astronomy (AST/RO Project); radio astronomical instrumentation; interstellar medium; galactic structure; cosmic background radiation; Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect observations; telescope control and data acquisition.

THADDEUS, Patrick, Astrophysicist. B.S. (1953) University of Delaware; M.A. (1955) Oxford University; Ph.D. (1960) Columbia University. Research specialties: Radio astronomy; study of galactic structure and molecular clouds; laboratory astrophysics; study of reactive molecules found in interstellar gas.

TIRUPATI, Sridharan K, Astronomer/Engineer. E.B. (1985) Madras University; Ph.D. (1993) Indian Institute of Science. Research specialties: Molecular clouds; star formations; radio holography.

TONG, Edward C., Engineer. B.Sc. (1983) University of Hong Kong; Ph.D. (1988) University of Joseph Fourier, Grenoble. Research specialties: Instrumentation for millimeter- and submillimeter-wave astronomy.

WEINTROUB, Jonathan, Correlator Group Leader. B.Sc.(Eng) (1983), M.Sc.(Eng) (1986) University of Cape Town; Ph.D. (1998) Harvard University. Research specialties: Instrumentation for astronomy signal processing; Submillimeter Array (SMA) Correlator; Astronomical masers; Submillimeter VLBI on super massive black holes, in the Galactic Center and elsewhere.

WILNER, David James, Associate Director, Radio and Geoastronomy Division, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. A.B. (1987) Princeton University; Ph.D. (1993) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Star and planet formation; protoplanetary disks and debris disks; aperture synthesis observations and interferometry techniques.

WILSON, Robert Woodrow, Senior Scientist, part time. B.A. (1957) Rice University; Ph.D. (1962) California Institute of Technology. Research specialties: Radio astronomy; cosmic background; millimeter and submillimeter spectroscopy; telescope system design; submillimeter synthesis; radio communication.

YOUNG, Ken Harbour, Astrophysicist. B.A. (1980) Carlton College; Ph.D. (1994) California Institute of Technology. Research specialties: AGB stars; young planetary nebulae.

ZENG, Lingzhen, Physicist. B.A. (2005) University of Science and Technology, China; Ph.D. (2012) Johns Hopkins University. Research Specialties: Millimeter and submillimeter instrumentation and the interstellar medium.

ZHANG, Qizhou, Astrophysicist. M.S. (1993), Ph.D. (1996) Harvard University. Research specialties: Molecular clouds and star formation; study of infall motions, disks, and outflows in star-forming regions.

ZHAO, Jun-Hui, Astrophysicist. B.S. (1982), M.S. (1985) Peking University; Ph.D. (1990) University of New Mexico. Research specialties: The Galactic center, dynamics of circum-nuclear disks, black holes, star formation, starbursts, AGNs, imaging techniques and interferometer software.

AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF

GOODMAN, Alyssa A., Research Associate of SAO; Professor of Astronomy, Harvard University; Founding Director of the Harvard Initiative in Innovative Computing. Sc.B. (1984) Massachusetts Institute of Technology; A.M. (1986), Ph.D. (1989) Harvard University. Research specialties: Radio through optical observations of the interstellar medium and star formation; special interests in velocity structure, magnetic fields, polarimetry; Scientific Data Visualization.