Date: Jan 18
Speaker: Jane Charlton
Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1987. Theoretical extragalactic astronomy; cosmology; large-scale structure; QSO absorption line systems; galactic evolution; galaxy interactions and mergers. email: jcharlton@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "The Internal Workings of Galaxies Over Cosmic Time"
Reading: NASA grant proposal submitted Jan. 11, 1996, handed out in class on January 11th.
Date: Jan 25
Speaker: Dan Weedman
Ph.D., Wisconsin, 1967. Formerly on leave to serve as Director of the NASA Astrophysics Division. Extragalactic astronomy; quasars, galactic nuclei; emission-line spectroscopy; radio and infrared astronomy. email: dweedman@gm.ossa.hq.nasa.gov
Lecture title: "NASA Science Missions"
Reading: Homepage of the Office of Space Science: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oss/. In particular, read the strategic plan and come prepared to ask any questions you wish about it or about current missions.
Date: Feb 1
Speaker: Don Schneider
Ph.D., Cal-Tech, 1982. Quasars, absorption line clouds, extragalactic astronomy; cosmology. email: dschneider@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "Quasars and Cosmology"
Reading: "The Space Distribution of Quasars," Hartwick, F.D.A., and Schade, D. 1990, Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 28, 437
Date: Feb 8
Speaker: Dave Burrows
Ph.D., Wisconsin, 1982. X-ray astronomy experiments and instrumentation. email: dburrows@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "X-ray Astronomy from Sounding Rockets"
Reading:
Date: Feb 15
Speaker: Richard Wade
Ph.D., Cal-Tech., 1981. Interacting binary stars; late stages of stellar evolution; stellar spectroscopy. email: rwade@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "Searching for Supernovae (in all the wrong places?)"
Reading: two short articles and a proposal, handed out in class
Date: Feb 22
Speaker: Larry Ramsey
Ph.D., Indiana, 1976. Astronomical instrumentation; spectroscopic studies of stellar activity in pre-main sequence and evolved stars. email: lramsey@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "The Hobby-Eberly Telescope"
Reading:
The SPIE articles can be found in the Engineering Library or you can pick up a copy from me. The brochures can be gotten from me as well (courtest L. Ramsey).
Date: Feb 29
Speaker: Eric Feigelson
Ph.D., Harvard, 1980. Extragalactic radio and x-ray astronomy; pre-main sequence stars; statistical methodology; carbon astrochemistry. email: efeigelson@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "Portrait of Collaborative Research: Multi-wavelength Surveys"
Reading: Handed out in class.
Date: Mar 14
Speaker: Robin Ciardullo
Ph.D., UCLA, 1986. Extragalactic astronomy; planetary nebulae and distance scale; novae. email: rciardullo@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "Planetary Nebulae and the Distance Scale"
Reading: Jacoby, G.H., Branch, D., Ciardullo, R., Davies, R.L, Harris, W.E., Pierce, M.J., Pritchet, C.J., Tonry, J.L., & Welch, D.L. 1992, "A Critical Review of Selected Techniques for Measuring Extragalactic Distances," Pub.A.S.P. 104, 599
Date: Mar 21
Planned Speaker: Pablo Laguna
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 1987. Numerical relativity, cosmology, and astrophysics of strongly gravitating systems. email: plaguna@astro.psu.edu
Actual Speaker: Philippos Papadopoulos
Lecture title: "A Brief Introduction to Einstein's Gravity"
Reading:
Date: Mar 28
Speaker: Peter Meszaros
Ph.D., California, Berkeley, 1972, (Head of Department) High-energy astrophysics; accretion theory of neutron stars and black holes; quasars and cosmology. email: pmeszaros@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "Gamma Ray Bursts"
Reading:
Date: Apr 4
Speaker: Matthew A. Bershady
Ph.D., Chicago, 1992. Extragalactic astronomy and cosmology; galaxy kinematics and image structure; quasars; optical and IR observations. email: mbershady@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "Distant Galaxies and Cosmology"
Reading: Koo, D.C. and Kron, R.G., 1992, Annual Reviews of Astronomy & Astrophysics, 30, 613
Date: Apr 11
Student presentations - I
Speaker 1: Eric Mamajek
Lecture title: ""Extrasolar planets: Searches and Detections"
Speaker 2: Andrew Stephens
Lecture title: "HET Queue Scheduling: Efficiency...or just a line?"
Date: Apr 18
Student presentations - II
Speaker 1: Janet Geoffroy
Lecture title: "The Search for High-Redshift Galaxies"
Speaker 2: Bryan Jacoby
Lecture title: "Radio Interferometry and the Structure of Radio Galaxies"
Date: Apr 25
Speaker: John Nousek
Ph.D., Wisconsin, 1978. X-ray astronomy and space borne instrumentation; Astrophysics Data Systems Development. email: jnousek@astro.psu.edu
Lecture title: "Astronomical Spacecraft and High Energy Astrophysics"
Reading: