Research Activity Summaries

Information is posted here about institutions that have expressed interest in hosting Einstein Fellows, describing their X-ray related research activities and facilities. All descriptions have been prepared and submitted by the institutions themselves. Fellowship applicants are reminded that they need not limit their choice of Host Institution to institutions on this list, but may select any U.S. institution where Physics of the Cosmos-related science can be carried out.

For details, see the Call for Proposals


AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Dept. of Astrophysics, 79th St. at Central Park West, NY, NY 10024
Attention: Michael Shara (mshara|at|amnh.org) or Mordecai-Mark Mac Low (mordecai|at|amnh.org)

The new department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History currently consists of two faculty members, Michael Shara and Mordecai-Mark Mac Low, and more than ten other resarchers working on a range of topics in galactic and extragalactic astronomy, as well as planetary science. Topics of particular interest include star formation, stellar collisions, planetary impacts, massive stellar winds, globular clusters, the structure of the ISM and the stellar disk of the Galaxy, nearby stars, galactic and extragalactic novae, and galaxy formation. We enjoy access to the substantial computational resources of the Hayden Planetarium and the Museum, and have close ties to Columbia University.

Research in the topic ties strongly to X-ray observations in a number of fields, so Einstein Fellows are very welcome.

Further information about our department is available on our home page at http://research.amnh.org/astrophysics/.

[last update 09/00]

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
School of Earth and Space Exploration (http://sese.asu.edu/)
Astrophysics (http://sese.asu.edu/astrophysics)
Cosmology (http://www.cosmology.asu.edu/)
Planetary Sciences (http://sese.asu.edu/planetary_sciences)

ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration, PO Box 871404, Tempe, AZ 85287-1404
Telephone: 480-965-5081
Facsimile: 480-965-8102
Attention: James Rhoads, Associate Professor (James.Rhoadsasu.edu)

Program Description
The School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) at Arizona State Universit y welcomes applications for the Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowships sponsored by NASA. SESE is home to a vibrant research group in astronomy and astrophysics, both observational and theoretical. SESE astronomers have access to world-class telescopes through the Arizona telescope system, which has a 25% share in the 11m Large Binocular Telescope, 50% in the 6.5m MMT, and 10% in each of the two 6.5m Magellan telescopes. Postdocs in SESE can lead proposals for any of these facilities. Theoretical research in SESE benefits from in-house parallel supercomputing resources. In addition to astronomical research, the school includes faculty in astrobiology, planetary science, geology, geophysics, geochemistry, engineering, and science education.

Astrophysics focus areas at SESE include:

  • Computational Astrophysics
  • Cosmology, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy
  • Star Formation and Evolution
  • Galaxy Formation and Evolution
  • Formation and Evolution of Planets and Other Solid Bodies
We offer many research opportunities in all of these areas.

SESE includes 11 astronomy and astrophysics faculty members: Steven Desch, Chris Groppi, Lawrence Krauss, Sangeeta Malhotra, James Rhoads, Evan Scannapieo, Paul Scowen, Sumner Starrfield, Frank Timmes, Rogier Windhorst, and Patrick Young. SESE is a new venture, inaugurated in 2006, and seven of the se eleven faculty joined ASU between 2006 and 2009. All of the above-named faculty would be glad to act as research sponsors for NASA Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellows. Further growth in astronomy is expected in the coming few years. Astronomy in SESE also includes a half dozen research staff and postdocs, and about 20 graduate students. We maintain strong collaborative ties with ASU's engineering school. We also have strong ties to the ASU Physics department, including a joint SESE-Physics Cosmology Initiative that ranges from high redshift galaxy observations to theoretical work on inflation and other topics in the physics of the early universe. Our laboratories are home to exploration systems engineers developing next generation instruments for both ground based and space based applications.

Arizona State University is in Tempe, which is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. The University's surroundings combine big-city amenities, affordable living, a warm climate, and great access to outdoor recreation.

Further information about the faculty, and the research and educational opportunities at ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration is available at http://sese.asu.edu/.

[last update 09/09]

AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Department of Physics, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849
Attention: Michael S Pindzola (pindzola|at|physics.auburn.edu) or Francis J Robicheaux (francisr|at|physics.auburn.edu)

The Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics Group in the Physics Department would be happy to work with an Einstein Fellow. Our current research activities include the study of atomic and molecular collision processes of interest to the microscopic modeling of many laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. We collaborate with other theory groups in the US and the UK interested in making use of massively parallel computing platforms to solve large scale computational problems. We also collaborate with experimental groups in the US and Europe making use of ion traps and ion storage rings to perform benchmark measurements of various atomic and molecular collision processes.

[last update 09/00]

BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Astronomy Department, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
Attention: Alan Marscher

The Institute for Astrophysical Research at Boston University is a potential host for an Einstein Fellow. Faculty members doing research in high energy astrophysics include Professors Kenneth Brecher, and Alan Marscher Current emphasis is on synchrotron and inverse Compton emission from relativistic jets in blazars and on high-energy emission from pulsars. Information on the multiwavelength studies of blazars by Marscher is on the Web. Marscher and Senior Research Associate Svetlana Jorstad are observing the jets of 5 quasars with Chandra in 2002, each for 20 ksec, in order to determine how the X-ray flux depends on the level of relativistic beaming and other physical parameters.

[last update 07/02]

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Astronomy Department, Pasadena, CA 91125
Attention: Shri Kulkarni

The Astronomy department at Caltech would be happy to welcome Einstein Fellows. Please look at our Web page http://astro.caltech.edu for a description of the facilities that Caltech operates. Our interests range from radio astronomy to optical and theoretical astrophysics. Einstein Fellows (and other fellows) are allowed to propose for time at the Keck telescopes and the telescopes at Palomar. Indeed, a certain portion of the time is specifically set aside for post-doctoral fellows.

[last update 07/00]

CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF (BERKELEY)
Department of Astronomy, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411
Attention: Don Backer (dbacker|at|astron.berkeley.edu)

The members of the Berkeley Astronomy Department pursue a range of interests in astronomy and astrophysics.

Observational/experimental work includes study of the atmosphere and ionospheres of comets and the major planets; structure of globular clusters and normal galaxies; black holes and active galactic nuclei; pulsar searches, timing, and physical characteristics; supernovae; general structure of the interstellar medium; molecular clouds and associated star formation; distribution of galaxies and observational cosmology; searches for extrasolar planets; and development of IR and mm-wave instrumentation for imaging and spectroscopy.

Theoretical activities are similarly diverse and include physics of star formation; large-scale structure; the identity of dark matter; physics of the general interstellar medium, with focus on interstellar shocks and turbulence; dynamics and appearance of magnetized disks in compact objects (galactic binaries and AGN); physics and evolution of rotation-powered and accretion-poweredpulsars.

Departmental computer facilities include a Sun (unix) server with an available selection of Sun and PC workstations and a small PC cluster.

The Radio Astronomy Laboratory (which shares space with the Department) operates the BIMA millimeter array at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory and is developing the Allen Telescope Array telescope. The Department is a member of the University of California/Caltech consortium operating the Keck Telescope.

The neighboring Physics Department, Space Sciences Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory afford facilities for experimental research on the nature of dark matter, neutrino astronomy and the microwave background, and in various aspects of space astrophysics, including but not limited to studies of gamma-ray bursts and extreme ultraviolet astronomy.

See research links at http://astro.berkeley.edu.


THE SPACE SCIENCES LABORATORY AT U.C. BERKELEY
Attention: Robert Lin (rlin|at|ssl.berkeley.edu)

The primary goal of U.C. Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) is to foster outstanding research in space-related sciences and to provide education for the next generation of space scientists. SSL research focuses on experiments and observations carried out in space, but it also supports research with the potential of leading to future space experiments, and theoretical research that is tied into SSL's experimental and observational programs. SSL researchers are located at the Sam Silver Laboratory, in several campus departments, and at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL).

A major focus of SSL is independent high-energy astrophysical research in such areas as cataclysmic variables, flare stars, early- and late-type stars, the interstellar medium, and active galaxies. To facilitate this research SSL is a major player in the research and development of satellite instrumentation technology, particularly in the areas of far and extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray detectors, and in gamma-ray spectroscopy detectors.

As one major example, SSL developed the entire science payload for NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) satellite, which was launched in June of 1992 and is operated by SSL at its CEA facility in downtown Berkeley. EUVE conducts imaging and spectroscopy in the EUV band and provides important scientific data on a wide variety of high-energy astrophysical phenomena and systems (e.g., white dwarfs, cool stars, cataclysmic variables, and active galaxies). Because of some overlap in spectral coverage, EUVE also has strong ties to the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) mission and is being used as an important tool in helping CXO to cross-calibrate its instruments on orbit.

Another example is the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) Small Explorer mission that SSL is presently developing for launch in July 2000. This mission is primarily to study solar flares in gamma-rays and hard x-rays, but it also provides spectroscopic observations of cosmic gamma-ray lines and high spatial resolution (~2 arcsec) imaging of the Crab nebula in hard x-rays.

SSL researchers have also developed instruments for a number of other space missions including, among others, ORFEUS, FUSE, SOHO, FAST, ALEXIS, INTEGRAL, GALEX, and CHIPS. In addition, SSL houses a number of other projects, from infrared interferometry to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In all of SSL's work and at all levels, graduate students are actively involved and play major roles.


CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF (IRVINE)
Department of Physics and Astronomy
4129 Frederick Reines Hall
Irvine, CA 92697-4575

Attention: David A. Buote (buote|at|uci.edu)

The Department of Physics and Astronomy welcomes inquires from potential Einstein Fellows. The Department (http://www.physics.uci.edu/NEW/astro.shtml) has active research programs in X-ray astronomy, galaxy clusters, active galactic nuclei, galaxy formation and evolution, star formation, wavefront sensing and adaptive optics, and particle astrophysics.


CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF (SANTA BARBARA)
Department of Physics
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106

Attention: Omer Blaes (blaes|at|physics.ucsb.edu)

The astrophysics group at the University of California, Santa Barbara, carries out a range of research activities, including galaxy formation and evolution, galactic winds, gravitational lensing, active galactic nuclei, the cosmic microwave background, and compact objects and X-ray binaries. The research faculty are Robert Antonucci, Lars Bildsten, Omer Blaes, Carl Gwinn, Crystal Martin, Peng Oh, and Tommaso Treu. Observers at UCSB have access to the Keck 10-m telescopes and Lick Observatory facilities. The group also benefits enormously from the regular astrophysics programs held at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics.

We welcome inquiries from potential Einstein Fellow candidates in all fields of astrophysics. Further information on UCSB research can be found at http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~astrogroup/.


KAVLI INSTITUTE FOR THEORETICAL PHYSICS
Kohn Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4030
Attention: Lars Bildsten (bildsten|at|kitp.ucsb.edu)

The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) is funded by the National Science Foundation and is on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. The KITP's purpose is to contribute to the progress of theoretical physics, especially in areas overlapping the traditional subfields, in ways that are not easily realized in existing institutions. The scientific work is carried out by approximately 60 members, including the director, deputy director, 5 permanent members, 10-15 postdoctoral members, and 40-45 visiting senior members. KITP permanent members and postdoctoral fellows are active in all areas of theoretical physics, including astrophysics. Most visiting members are participants in major programs that last 2-5 months, there are at least eight programs per year.

[last update 8/99]

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Departments of Astronomy and Physics, 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027
Attention: David J. Helfand, Chair (djh|at|astro.columbia.edu)

Seventeen full-time faculty, a dozen post-docs, and 30 graduate students are involved in theoretical, observational, and experimental research covering most major areas astrophysics. High-energy astrophysics is heavily represented. Chandra-related programs at Columbia include: high-resolution spectroscopy of neutron stars, X-ray binaries, AGNs, and gamma-ray burst afterglows, surveys of faint extragalactic X-ray sources and the Galactic plane, studies of individual supernova remnants, pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae, cataclysmic variables, unidentified gamma-ray sources, and galaxy clusters. Einstein Fellows at Columbia have access to the 2.4m and 1.3m telescopes of the MDM Observatory on Kitt Peak, ample computing facilities, and stimulating collaborations with members of the departments listed above, as well as with the Department of Astrophysics of the nearby American Museum of Natural History.

We welcome inquiries from potential Einstein Fellow candidates with interests in any of the above mentioned areas.

Further information about astrophysics at Columbia can be found on our web pages at http://www.astro.columbia.edu/

[last update 08/03]

CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Department of Astronomy, 512 Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY
Attention: Yervant Terzian, Chair

Astronomy faculty members at Cornell University are engaged in research covering the general areas of (a) Optical Astronomy, where Cornell scientists use 25 percent of the observing time with the 200-inch Palomar telescope; (b) Infrared Astronomy, where Cornell scientists have played an important role in IRAS, and are now deeply involved in SJRTF; (c) Planetary Sciences, where since the beginning of the Apollo missions Cornell scientists have been involved in almost all the planetary space exploration projects including the Magellan and Voyager missions, and now the Galileo and Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous missions; (d) Radio and Radar Astronomy, where the major activities are related with the Cornell operated Arecibo Observatory; and (e) Theoretical Astrophysics, with emphasis on relativistic astrophysics, cosmology, stellar structure, galactic dynamics and other modern subjects.

[last update 07/00]

FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
150 West University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901-6988
Attn: Fred Ringwald

Florida Institute of Technology is just south of NASA Kennedy Space Center, and this influences most departments at Florida Tech. The Department of Physics and Space Sciences is comprised of the Astronomy Group, the Condensed Matter Physics Group, the Optics Group, and the Space Physics Group. All groups do research on topics relevant to NASA, including lightweight solar panels and infra-red detectors by the Condensed Matter Group, and machine vision by the Optics Group.

The Astronomy Group is concerned primarily with observational and theoretical studies of white dwarf stars, M dwarf stars, and cataclysmic variables. Dr. Terry Oswalt leads the observational effort, which uses white dwarfs in wide binaries to determine the luminosity function of large samples of white dwarfs, and the gravitational redshifts of individual stars to determine their mass function. Dr. Oswalt is spending the 1998-1999 academic year at the NSF as the Director of the Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics Division. Dr. Matt Wood leads the theoretical effort, calculating white dwarf evolutionary tracks and using these to integrate theoretical luminosity functions. In collaboration with Dr. James Simpson (CSR), Wood simulates numerically the hydrodynamics of stellar ("cataclysmic variable") accretion disks around white dwarfs. Dr. Fred Ringwald is a Visiting Assistant Professor who works on observational aspects of cataclysmic variables and other close binaries, including an imaging study this year of nova shells with Hubble Space Telescope. More detailed descriptions of all the group's active research projects can be found under our home pages at http://astro.fit.edu/astro.html.

Florida Tech is the administrative institution for the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA), which consists of Florida Institute of Technology, East Tennessee State University, Florida International University, University of Georgia at Athens, and Valdosta State University. SARA has recommissioned a 0.9-m telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona for CCD imaging and photometry. In addition to conventional on-site use of the telescope, the (soon-to-be) fully automated telescope may also be remotely accessible via Internet.


GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Department of Physics and Astronomy
One Park Place South SE, Suite 700
Atlanta, GA 30303
Attention: Mike Crenshaw (crenshaw|at|chara.gsu.edu)

Research in X-ray astronomy at Georgia State University is conducted primarily in the area of active galactic nuclei (AGN) by members of the Program for Extragalactic Astronomy (PEGA). An Einstein Fellow would be welcome to work with any or all of the three PEGA faculty members. H.R. Miller's group works with archival Chandra, RXTE, Rosat and ASCA data studying the continuum variability of blazars and Seyfert galaxies. Ground based optical monitoring, combined with several ongoing RXTE programs, provides a complete picture of the variability of these objects. P.J. Wiita's group works with analytical and numerical models of astrophysical jets and accretion disks in AGN and microquasars. D.M. Crenshaw's group concentrates on mass outflow from AGN in the form of UV and X-ray absorbers, and has conducted multiwavelength campaigns on intrinsic absorbers in Seyfert galaxies using Chandra, HST/STIS, and FUSE. Addtional information can be found at the following web site: http://www.chara.gsu.edu.


ILLINOIS, UNIVERSITY OF
Astronomy Department, 1002 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801
Attention: You-Hua Chu
Physics Department, 1110 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801.
Attention: Fred Lamb

The astronomy and physics departments at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign welcomes inquiries from potential Einstein Fellows. Faculty members with research interests related to X-ray astronomy include Y.-H. Chu, J. Dickel, C. Gammie, F. Lamb, S. Lamb, M. Norman, S. Shapiro, and R. Webbink. Visit the astronomy and physics department web pages for more information, as well as our Center for Theoretical Astrophysics and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, which is located on campus.


INSTITUTE FOR ASTRONOMY, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
Attention: J. Patrick Henry

The Institute for Astronomy would be happy to welcome Einstein Fellows. Please look at our Web page http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu for a description of the Institute and the facilities that provide guaranteed observing time to University of Hawaii astronomers. Einstein Fellows, along with all other UH astronomers, may propose to the Institute Time Allocation Committee to use these facilities and to national committees to use others. The research interests of Institute astronomers cover a very wide range. Detailed information is provided at the above web address.


INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Department of Astronomy, 319 Swain West, Bloomington, IN 47405

Research activities at Indiana University relevent to high energy astrophysics and to Physics of the Cosmos work:

Durisen works with scientists at the Max Plank Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics trying to understand the spatial distributions of x-ray selected young stars. They are currently doing simultaneous x-ray pointings with ROSAT and ground-based multiple-object spectroscopy with the WIYN telescope, for a field containing x-ray selected flare stars.

Honeycutt works with both ground-based and satellite data (ROSAT and XTE) to study the properties of cataclysmic variables (CVs) and related objects. A long-term automated photometric monitoring program is used to select CVs with of particular interest for x-ray work, including VY Scl stars, SU Uma stars, and intermediate polars.

Cohn and Lugger search for CVs and other x-ray sources in globular clusters, in connection with their modeling of the dynamical evolution of globular clusters. This work uses Chandra, WIYN, and HST.

Steiman-Cameron is studying the physics and the geometry of accretion flows in CVs using time-resolved observations on many time scales. This work uses XTE, EXOSAT, and ground-based telescopes.


UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AT COLLEGE PARK
Astronomy Department, College Park, MD 20742
Attention: Marvin Leventhal

The Astronomy Department at UMCP would welcome Einstein Fellows. We are engaged in astronomical research covering the entire electomagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays of both an observational and theoretical nature. Faculty members doing research in high energy astrophysics include Marvin Leventhal, Cole Miller, Chris Reynolds, Sylvain Veilleux, and Andrew Wilson. Current emphasis is on AGN, compact galactic objects, and cosmology. The Department also benefits from a close working relationship with the nearby Goddard Space Flight Center. More information can be obtained from our web pages www.astro.umd.edu

[last update 09/01]

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, CB 3255, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255
Attention: Art Champagne

The Department of Physics & Astronomy at The University of North Carolina welcomes Einstein Fellows. Faculty and students at UNC are using HST, Spitzer, GALEX, Swift and Chandra together with ground-based spectrometers and radio/mm telescopes. Research includes study of galaxy evolution (S. Kannappan), white dwarf and neutron star pulsation (C. Clemens) and pulsar winds (C. Evans), GRB evolution (D. Reichart), and jet/wind ISM interactions in active galaxies (G. Cecil), star formation and computational astrophysics (F.Heitsch). An active program in astronomical instrumentation is also underway. Einstein Fellows at UNC will have guaranteed time on the 4.1m SOAR telescope atop Cerro Pachon, Chile. The telescope operates in queue-scheduled and synoptic modes, allowing time-critical optical and IR imaging and spectrophotometry of targets in the southern sky. UNC is a partner in the 11-meter SALT project, and runs a network of robotic telescopes (the PROMPT rapid response array in Chile and SkyNet globally).

[last update 10/14/09]

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
The Northwestern University Department of Physics and Astronomy is be happy to welcome Einstein Fellows. Our interests range from radio astronomy, IR, optical, to X-ray/gamma-ray astronomy and theoretical astrophysics. Please look at our Web pages http://www.astro.northwestern.edu and http://www.physics.northwestern.edu for a more detailed description of the facilities and interests of our group.


OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics
Attention: Terry Walker, twalker|at|mps.ohio-state.edu

The Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP) at The Ohio State University (OSU) would welcome hosting Einstein Fellows. Please see our web page at http://ccapp.osu.edu.

CCAPP faculty are drawn from both the Department of Astronomy (http://astronomy.osu.edu) and the Department of Physics (https://physics.osu.edu).

OSU funded CCAPP to build on the unique environment between the OSU Departments of Astronomy and Physics, and to pursue research at the interface of cosmology, astrophysics, and high energy physics. CCAPP research initiatives include dark energy, multi-messenger astro-particle physics, dark matter, and the birth and growth of the Universe. OSU has institutional memberships in SDSS-III, the Large Binocular Telescope, and the Auger experiment, and there is significant participation by CCAPP researchers in the Dark Energy Survey and the GLAST/Fermi experiment.


PENNSYLVANIA, UNIVERSITY OF
Department of Physics and Astronomy, 209 South 33rd Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-6394
Attention: P. Langacker (pgl|at|langacker.hep.upenn.edu)

Current research efforts in astrophysics center on theoretical and observational cosmology, planetary formation, and neutrino astrophysics. Faculty members working in these areas are Mark Devlin, Chung-Pei Ma, and Max Tegmark (cosmology); David Koerner (planetary formation); and Gene Beier, Doug Cowen, Josh Klein, Ken Lande, and Paul Langacker (neutrino astrophysics).

Theoretical work in cosmology includes analytic and numerical studies of the role of massive neutrinos in the formation and evolution of large-scale structure, the evolution of matter and radiation fluctuations, the use of gravitational lenses and other observations to model and map the dark-matter content of clusters and superclusters, and precision cosmology using cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure data. Observational work utilizes balloon and ground-based techniques to measure anisotropies in the cosmic background radiation using the Mobile Anisotropy Telescope, deployed in Chile. A future balloon-based telescope will identify large numbers of distant high­redshift galaxies and measure cold pre­stellar sources associated with the earliest stages of star and planet formation.

David Koerner utilizes multi-wavelength (from radio to visible) observations to image forming solar systems at the highest available angular resolution, obtained at such facilities as HST, Keck, the Owens Valley millimeter array, and the VLA.

The neutrino astrophysics group is involved in the SNO, Homestake, and SAGE solar neutrino experiments, in their theoretical interpretation, and in the AMANDA high-energy neutrino experiment at the South Pole.

[last update 8/99]

PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park PA 16802.
Attention: Eric Feigelson

Penn State has a multifaceted astronomy department with a strong emphasis on X-ray astronomy. Evan Pugh Professor Gordon Garmire is the Principal Investigator of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) detector, and leads a large research group. Its Guaranteed Time program has included a wide range of important Chandra targets including the Chandra Deep Field North, Galactic Center, Crab Nebula and Orion Nebula. Faculty and scientists involved in X-ray studies include: Eric Feigelson, Konstantin Getman and Leisa Townsley (young stellar objects and star forming regions); David Burrows, Gordon Garmire, Oleg Kargaltsev, George Pavlov and Sangwook Park(neutron stars, pulars and supernova remnants); Niel Brandt and George Chartas (AGN surveys, spectroscopy and lensing); David Burrows, Gordon Garmire, Peter Meszaros and John Nousek (gamma-ray bursts observations and astrophysics). The Department operates NASA's Swift GRB satellite, has a substantial fraction of time on the 8-meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope, and participates in several cross-disciplinary centers within the University. See the Department Web site for further details.


PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Department of Astrophysical Sciences, 113 Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001
Attention: Scott Tremaine (tremaine|at|astro.princeton.edu)

The Department of Astrophysical Sciences supports research in most branches of astrophysics, including clusters of galaxies, cosmology, galaxy dynamics and evolution, gamma-ray bursts, gravitational lensing and microlensing, the interstellar medium, large-scale structure, and quasar absorption lines. Princeton's faculty include Neta Bahcall, Renyue Cen, Bruce Draine, Jeremy Goodman, J. Richard Gott, James Gunn, Ed Jenkins, Gillian Knapp, Jeremiah Ostriker, Bohdan Paczynski, David Spergel, Michael Strauss, and Scott Tremaine. Cross-appointed faculty include Paul Steinhardt and P.J.E. Peebles. The faculty includes six members of the National Academy, four winners of the Warner or Pierce Prize, and three winners of the Heinemann Prize. The department offers an exceptionally strong graduate program in astrophysics, with close interactions between grad students and postdocs. Information on other postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton is available here.

Princeton University is a partner in ARC, which operates a 3.5-m telescope at Apache Point Observatory and built the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which imaged more than 8,000 square degrees of the sky in five bandpasses, detecting nearly 200 million celestial objects, and measured spectra of more than 675,000 galaxies, 90,000 quasars, and 185,000 stars between 2000 and 2005 (SDSS-I). The second phase (SDSS-II) included three distinct surveys and wrapped up in June 2008.

There is also an active program of astrophysics research in the Gravity Group in the Physics Department at Princeton University. The Institute for Advanced Study, about 2 km from campus, maintains a strong research program in astrophysics and there are many collaborations between these three groups. Together they provide an unsurpassed environment for research in a broad range of topics in astrophysics, particularly those involving theoretical interpretation.


INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY
Bloomberg Hall, Einstein Dr., Princeton, NJ 08540
Attention: Peter Goldreich or Scott Tremaine

http://www.sns.ias.edu/Main/astro.html

The astrophysics group at the Institute for Advanced Study includes two professors, (Peter Goldreich and Scott Tremaine), postdoctoral fellows (typically 10 to 13 at any given time) plus senior sabbatical visitors and many short term visitors (who are most often invited by the postdoctoral fellows with whom they collaborate). All of the scientists work on projects which they choose themselves. The permanent faculty of the School of Natural Sciences is responsible for mentoring, supporting, and stimulating the postdoctoral fellows (called "members" in our archaic jargon).

We have an active program of both formal and informal seminars and of mutual study projects. The seminars and study projects are run by the members and are joint with the Princeton University astrophysics groups.

Research at IAS is carried out in an informal atmosphere, which includes group lunches and coffee hours.

We have a distinguished history in the Chandra and HST Fellowship programs and would welcome an Einstein Fellow. We are proud of the work of our previous and current Chandra and HST Fellows: Eugene Chiang, Doron Chelouche, Neal Delal, Scott Gaudi, Puragra Guhathakurta, David Hogg, Buell Jannuzi, Feryal Ozel, Eliot Quataert, Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, Fred Rasio, Hans Walter Rix, R. van der Marel, Max Tegmark, Brian Yanny, Matias Zaldarriaga and Zheng Zheng. We look forward to hosting future Einstein Fellows.

Please consult any of our current or previous members listed on our web site, Peter Goldreich or Scott Tremaine, regarding postdoctoral activities at IAS.

Anyone interested in IAS sponsorship of their Einstein Fellow application should contact Peter Goldreich or Scott Tremaine.


RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
Department of Physics and Astronomy, 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8019
Attention: John P. Hughes

Astrophysics research at Rutgers ranges from Galactic studies to cosmology and includes both theoretical work and observational studies at many wavelengths. Hughes is involved in three major projects with the Chandra X-ray Observatory: a large survey of galaxy clusters to determine the Hubble constant and possibly the deceleration parameter from the SZE effect; a project to determine the progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae; and several detailed studies of supernova remnants in order to investigate their evolution, the nature and environments of their progenitors, and the process of nucleosynthesis. Hughes is also involved in the Astro-E project and has access to science working group time on that mission.

Other areas of research at Rutgers include: the search for massive black holes using STIS on HST (Joseph and Merritt); deep photometry and proper motions studies with HST of globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies (Pryor); CMB and early universe theory (Kosowsky), weak lensing of galaxy clusters (Hughes), dark matter (Sellwood, Merritt, Williams), dwarf galaxies (Pryor), supernovae (Hughes), interstellar medium (Joseph), X-ray astronomy (Hughes, Matilsky), instrumentation (Joseph, Williams), chaos & non-linear dynamics (Merritt, Matilsky, Zapolsky), and galactic dynamics (Sellwood & Merritt).

Rutgers supports its own Fabry-Perot spectrophotometer as a common user instrument at CTIO, for which it receives guaranteed time. Rutgers has also recently joined with South Africa and Poland to build the Southern Africa Large Telescope (SALT) which will be the largest individual telescope in the southern hemisphere when completed around 2002. The Department offers excellent system support for workstations and network connections. Rutgers is close to New York City and within easy reach of Princeton, Lucent Technologies (Bell Labs), and Columbia University. More details are available at our web site: http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/ast/group-ast.html.


STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Department of Physics MC 4060, Stanford University, CA 94305
Attention: Roger W. Romani (rwr|at|astro.stanford.edu)

At Stanford, Astrophysics research is conducted in the Department of Physics and at SLAC. These efforts will be augmented by the new joint Chen Institute for Particle Astrophysics. A particular focus is on high energy astrophysics, including a leading role in the Fermi (GLAST) LAT (Michelson, PI). Active CXO programs include research on AGN and their environment, on Gamma-ray sources and on pulsars and their wind nebulae. This is augmented by a theory program in high energy astrophysics, multiwavelength observations (including membership in the McDonald HET and the Sutherland SALT telescopes), solar and laboratory astrophysics. Einstein Fellows in related areas are most welcome.


VIRGINIA, UNIVERSITY OF
Astronomy Dept,P.O. Box 3818, Charlottesville, VA 22903-0818
Attention: Robert W. O'Connell

A number of Chandra-related research programs are active at the University of Virginia. The largest, including several post-docs and graduate students, is led by Craig Sarazin and involves both theoretical and observational studies of X-ray emission from clusters of galaxies and elliptical galaxies. Sarazin is a former chair of the Chandra Users' Committee. Related programs include studies of supernovae and supernova remnants (Roger Chevalier and Sarazin), interacting binary stars (Mercedes Richards), the theory of accretion disks (Steve Balbus and John Hawley), globular cluster X-ray sources (Bob Rood and Sarazin), star-forming galaxies and accretion flows (Bob O'Connell and Trinh Thuan), and active galactic nuclei (Zhi-Yun Li, Steve Majewski, and Mark Whittle). The Virginia Institute for Theoretical Astronomy funds an active visitor and postdoctoral program. There is close collaboration between the department and scientists at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, whose headquarters are nearby. More details on department research and facilities are available on our home page at http://www.astro.virginia.edu.


UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Astronomy Department, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195
Attention: Scott Anderson (anderson|at|astro.washington.edu)

The Astronomy Department at the University of Washington would be delighted to host an Einstein Fellow. Departmental research encompasses a wide range of astrophysical topics, from studies of cometary particles to theoretical cosmology. Members of the department are engaged in multiwavelength observational studies of high energy phenomena from X-ray satellites, HST, and groundbased telescopes, with especially active programs on X-ray emitting compact binaries and active galaxies. The Department plays a leading role in projects of the Astrophysical Research Consortium, including the Apache Point Observatory 3.5m telescope and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey; these facilities/data would be available to an Einstein Fellow in the Department, and are in routine use for optical/IR studies of sources of high energy radiation. The Department also has strong programs in theoretical and computational astrophysics, providing additional resources and facilities for potential Einstein Fellows with these interests. Further information on the Astronomy Department is available from our web site http://www.astro.washington.edu.

[last update 10/00]

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
Astronomy Department
5534 Sterling Hall
675 N Charter St.
Madison, WI 53706
Attention: Sebastian Heinz (heinz|at|astro.wisc.edu)
http://www.astro.wisc.edu

The Astronomy Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison conducts research on a broad range of astronomical topics. Particularly relevant to Einstein fellows are our efforts in theoretical and observational high energy astrophysics, structure formation, galaxy evolution, ISM/IGM physics, plasma astrophysics, and stellar physics. The department is a major partner in the WIYN and SALT telescopes and has close connections to Ice Cube and the Center for Magnetic Self Organization. We welcome inquiries and support Einstein fellowship applications.

[last update 10/08]

YALE UNIVERSITY
Departments of Astronomy and Physics, Yale Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics
P.O. Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101
Attention: Jeff Kenney (jeff.kenney|at|yale.edu) or Meg Urry (meg.urry|at|yale.edu)

The departments of Astronomy and Physics have a strong effort in high energy astrophysics and welcome Einstein Fellows. Faculty members whose work may be of interest include Charles Bailyn (compact binary systems), Charlie Baltay (dark energy), Paolo Coppi (modeling emission from compact objects and jets, AGN/starburst connection), Richard Easther (early Universe), Marla Geha (dark matter), Jeff Kenney (ISM in galaxies, galaxy evolution), Richard Larson (star formation and massive black hole formation), Dan McKinsey (direct dark matter detection), Daisuke Nagai (galaxy clusters, galaxy formation and evolution, cosmological simulations), Peter Parker (nuclear astrophysics), Andy Szymkowiak (advanced X-ray instrumentation), and Meg Urry (supermassive black holes). Current projects include multiwavelength studies of blazars, Chandra studies of galaxy clusters and AGN, galaxy and black hole demographics from deep-wide surveys, searches for obscured quasars, ISM physics in elliptical galaxies, numerical simulations of cluster, jet and disk physics, and instrument development for WIYN, SNAP, and Constellation X. Yale postdoctoral fellows have access to WIYN, Keck, Chilean telescopes, the SMARTS array and the QUEST survey data, the Yale High Performance Computing Center for theoretical work, and micro-fabrication facilities for advanced dectectors. Please see our web pages at www.yale.edu/ycaa and www.astro.yale.edu for more information.

[last update 10/10]

Institutions should send corrections and updates to Paul Green at pgreen|at|cfa.harvard.edu.