People
NOAO scientific staff, location, scientific interests, and functional duties. Personal web sites can be accessed by clicking on the scientist’s name.
Phone numbers and email addresses for all employees are available in the NOAO Phone List Search.
| Name | Rank | Scientific Interests | Functional Responsibilities | Location |
| Timothy Abbott (Tim) | Scientist |
Late stages of binary stellar evolution; Optical and IR observing systems: telescopes, instrumentation; operations |
Manager, Engineering & Technical Services (ETS), Deputy DECam project manager and DECam Installation Project Manager, ACTR chair | La Serena |
| Helmut Abt | Astronomer Emeritus | Double stars; stellar rotation; stellar characteristics; publication practices in astronomy | Thai 2.4-m telescope (Tucson supervisor), Scientometrics | Tucson |
| David Atlee | Research Associate | Star formation and galaxy formation, AGN | Post doctoral researcher | Tucson |
| Lori Allen | Associate Scientist | Star and planet formation; infrared astronomy and instrumentation | NOAO Associate Director for Kitt Peak National Observatory | Tucson |
| Timothy Beers (Tim) | Astronomer | Metal Poor Stars; large surveys | KPNO Support, KOSMOS | Tucson |
| Michael Belton (Mike) | Astronomer Emeritus | Planetary science; comets; asteroids; Jupiter system | Tucson | |
| Robert Blum (Bob) | Astronomer | Galactic Center; stellar kinematics and mass distribution in the central Milky Way | NOAO Deputy Director | Tucson |
| Cesar Briceño | Assistant Scientist | Star formation, young stars | SOAR Support, SAM support. | La Serena |
| Arjun Dey | Astronomer | Galaxy evolution; high redshift galaxies; large-scale structure | NOAO/KPNO DESI liaison scientist, Keck contact scientist | Tucson |
| Mark Dickinson | Associate Astronomer | Galaxy formation and evolution; high redshift galaxies; active galactic nuclei | Science Data Management program scientist; US TMT Liaison office | Tucson |
| Hui Dong | Research Associate | Galactic center, Massive stars, Stellar population, Interstellar Medium, M31 bulge | PHAT post doctoral researcher | Tucson |
| Jonathan Elias (Jay) | Astronomer | Star formation and evolution; Magellanic Clouds; supernovae | Manager, NOAO-North Engineering and Technical Services; C/KOSMOS Project Manager | Tucson |
| Mark Everett | Research Associate | Exoplanets; stellar variability; time domain studies | Kepler Mission Follow-up Program | Tucson |
| Elise Furlan | Research Associate | Star and planet formation; protostellar envelopes and protoplanetary disk evolution | Post doctoral researcher | IPAC, Pasadena |
| Katy Garmany | Associate Scientist | Massive stars, evolution and formation; astronomical education | NOAO newsletter editor, NOAO Diversity Co-Advocate | Tucson |
| Brooke Gregory | Scientist | Infrared instrumentation; cryogenic instrumentation; telescope optics and upgrades; adaptive optics | Observatory Infrastructure for DECam (cleanroom, cooling, air supply); Lead on AURA Laser Policies | La Serena |
| Stephen Heathcote (Steve) | Astronomer | Young Stellar Objects, Herbig-Haro outflows | NOAO Associate Director for NOAO South (including Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory) | SOAR/La Serena |
| Kenneth Hinkle (Ken) | Scientist | Circumstellar and interstellar matter; molecular spectroscopy; peculiar stars; instrumentation |
Gemini User support (GNIRS, Michelle, NIRI); Instrument scientist (Phoenix)
|
Tucson |
| Karianne Holhjem | Research Associate | Gravitational lensing and galaxy clusters | SOAR postdoc, OSIRIS and Spartan contact scientist | SOAR/La Serena |
| Sungryong Hong | Research Associate | Galaxy formation and evolution, large scale structure, stellar feedback, interstellar medium | Post doctoral researcher | Tucson |
| Hanae Inami | Research Associate | Galaxy formation and evolution, luminous infrared galaxies, active galactic nuclei | CANDELS post doctoral researcher |
Tucson |
| David James | Assistant Astronomer |
Wide-field photometric and spectroscopy surveys
of Galactic open clusters; Evolution of stellar rotation and internal mixing; Extra-solar planet properties; Instrumentation; Ages of stars. |
HYDRA Instrument Scientist; TripleSpec Project Scientist; DECam Instrument Support Team, including CTIO's DECal project scientist. Member of Dark Energy Survey's Cluster and Milky Way Working Groups. |
La Serena |
| Richard Joyce (Dick) | Scientist | Late-type stars; mass loss; infrared detector and instrumentation development | Telescope scientist (Mayall 4m), instrument scientist (WHIRC, FLAMINGOS), Gemini User support (GNIRS) | Tucson |
| Catherine (Katie) Kaleida | Research Associate | Star clusters and stellar associations in nearby galaxies, stellar populations in galaxies, galaxy formation and evolution | CTIO Director of Student Programs | La Serena |
| Jeyhan Kartaltepe | Research Associate | Interacting and merging galaxies, luminous infrared galaxies, active galactic nuclei, galaxy evolution | Hubble Fellow | Tucson |
| Thomas Kinman (Tom) | Astronomer Emeritus | Galactic structure; galactic halo; horizontal branch stars | Tucson | |
| Tod Lauer | Astronomer | Cosmology; large-scale structure of the Universe; evolution of the Universe; distance scale; structure of galaxies; dense stellar system; black holes in galactic nuclei; stellar populations | WIYN Board Member; Instrument Scientist: MOSAIC; NOAO LSST science working group; NOAO Survey Liaison | Tucson |
| Roger Lynds | Astronomer Emeritus | Star and galaxy formation; products of galaxy interaction in the recent and early Universe | Tucson | |
| Thomas Matheson (Tom) | Associate Astronomer | Supernovae; novae; gamma-ray bursts; cosmology | Gemini user support (GMOS), Gemini archive support, NOAO LSST science working group, SCD/ANTARES | Tucson |
| Kenneth Mighell (Ken) | Scientist | Stellar populations in the Galaxy and nearby galaxies; formation and evolution of Local Group galaxies; astrophysical applications of low-count statistics; Dwarf; spheroidal galaxies; globular clusters; CCD stellar photometry | Tucson REU Site Director | Tucson |
| Joan Najita | Astronomer |
Star and planet formation; substellar objects; infrared spectroscopy; wide-field surveys |
Office of Science Program Head, E-newsletter Currents editor, astronomy community outreach | Tucson |
| Gautham Narayan | Research Associate | Cosmology: dark energy, and the evolution of the Universe, distance indicators, supernovae, modeling and high-performance computing | Post doctoral researcher | Tucson |
| Dara Norman | Assistant Scientist | Gravitational lensing; large scale structure; quasars | NOAO Diversity Co-Advocate, Gemini user support (GMOS) (also assigned NDO, see above) | Tucson |
| Knut Olsen | Associate Astronomer | Stellar populations; galaxy formation and evolution; interaction of stars with the ISM | System Community Development Head, NOAO LSST science working group | Tucson |
| Janine Pforr | Research Associate | Galaxy formation and evolution, galaxy properties, e.g. stellar mass, spectral energy distribution fitting | CANDELS post doctoral researcher | Tucson |
| Sean Points | Associate Scientist | Interstellar medium (ISM); the Magellanic Clouds; evolved stars; astronomical instrumentation | Instrument Scientist: SOI & Goodman Spectrograph; Project Scientist: K/COSMOS | La Serena |
| Stephen Pompea (Steve) | Scientist | Inquiry- and research-based science education; astronomical instrumentation | EPO Head, Manager Of Science Education, Public Information Officer | Tucson |
| Ronald Probst (Ron) | Scientist | Star-forming regions; low-mass stars; infrared imaging instrumentation | Instrument scientist (NEWFIRM), Gemini user support (NICI) | Tucson |
| Jayadev Rajagopal | Assistant Scientist | Circumstellar dust, debris disks; high angular resolution techniques in optical/infrared; atmospheric turbulence |
WIYN Telescope Scientist, Gemini User Support (NICI) |
Tucson |
| Stephen Ridgway (Steve) | Astronomer | Variability, transients and temporal sky surveys | LSST performance metrics lead, optical interferometry community liaison | Tucson |
| Susan Ridgway | Assistant Astronomer | Quasar host galaxies | Gemini user support (NIRI, GMOS) | Tucson |
| Abhijit Saha (Abi) | Astronomer | Variable stars; stellar populations; cosmological distance scale; imaging and photometry | Astronomer in NSSC-LSST; lead scientist for LSST-OpSIM | Tucson |
| Colette Salyk | Research Associate | Circumstellar disks, star and planet formation, infrared spectroscopy | Leo Goldberg Post doctoral Fellow | Tucson |
| Richard A. Shaw | Scientist | Late stage stellar evolution, planetary nebulae, gaseous nebulae, astronomy with large datasets, astronomy software | WIYN Program Manager | Tucson |
| David Silva (Dave) | Senior Scientist | Extragalactic stellar populations; elliptical galaxies | NOAO Director | Tucson |
| Malcolm Smith | Astronomer | Global environmental impact of light pollution; the early Universe; quasars/active galactic nuclei | User support (ISPI), site protection, EPO | La Serena |
| R. Christopher Smith (Chris) | Astronomer | Supernovae; optical transients; supernova remnants; the interstellar medium | DECam support, AURA Head of Mission in Chile | La Serena |
| Verne Smith | Astronomer | High-resolution spectroscopy; cosmochemistry; nuclear astrophysics; chemical evolution; stellar populations; stellar atmospheres; stellar evolution | NOAO Associate Director for NOAO System Science Center | Tucson |
| David Sprayberry | Senior Scientist | Instrumentation and observing techniques; galaxy formation and evolution; statistical analysis of galaxy populations, especially dwarf and low surface brightness galaxies | Head of Program NSTC; Project Manager for NOAO-DESI | Tucson |
| Letizia Stanghellini | Associate Astronomer | Stellar structure and evolution; Galactic and extragalactic planetary nebulae (PNe); stellar populations | System Users Support Head, MMT contact scientist | Tucson |
| Stephen Strom (Steve) | Astronomer Emeritus | Formation and evolution of planetary systems; origin of stellar angular moment | Tucson | |
| Andrei Tokovinin | Astronomer | Statistics and formation of binary and multiple stars; adaptive optics; site testing | Instrument scientist(1.5-m echelle), project scientist (SOAR Adaptive Optics Module) | La Serena |
| Francisco Valdes (Frank) | Scientist | Cosmology; gravitational lensing; stellar spectroscopy; astronomical software |
Data pipelines (ODI, DECam-CP,+), IRAF application development
|
Tucson |
| Nicole van der Bliek | Scientist | Instrumentation; young stars and cool stars | NOAO South Deputy Director | La Serena |
| Katherina Vivas | Assistant Astronomer | CTIO Support Astronomer | La Serena | |
| Alistair Walker | Astronomer | Stellar populations; the Magellanic Clouds; the distance scale; astronomical instrumentation and detectors | DECam Instrument Scientist, Leader of Optical Imagers Support Team, Member of the NOAO Promotion and Tenure Committee, Member of CTIO Advisory Committee on Technical Resources (ACTR), LSST Operations Planning | La Serena |
| Constance Walker (Connie) | Associate Scientist | Inquiry- and research-based science education; submillimeter-wave spectroscopy of star formation in galaxies at different epochs | Dark skies awareness, informal science programs | Tucson |
| Lloyd Wallace | Astronomer Emeritus | Spectroscopy and atmospheric structure of cool stars; molecular spectroscopy | Tucson | |
| Sidney Wolff | Astronomer Emeritus | Star formation; stellar rotation | President, LSST Corporation | Tucson |
| Alfredo Zenteno | Research Associate | Observational Cosmology | DECam/Blanco Support | La Serena |
Last updated or reviewed January 30, 2014.
NOAO is the national center for ground-based nighttime astronomy in the United States and is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. If you would like information about solar astronomy, visit the National Solar Observatory. If you would like information about radio astronomy, visit the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.