Work Biography for Dr. Louis Allamandola

Dr. Lou Allamandola brings to The Astrochemistry Lab 20 years of experience in pioneering laboratory studies of ices of interstellar and planetary interest. Formally trained as a specialist in low temperature spectroscopy at the University of California at Berekeley under the tutelage of Professor George C. Pimentel, followed by postdoctoral research on energy transfer at cryogenic temperatures with Professor Joseph W. Nibler at Oregon State University, Lou worked for seven years in the Astrophysics Laboratory at Leiden University in the Netherlands where he developed the techniques required to prepare and study laboratory analogs of interstellar/pre-cometary ice grains using spectroscopic methods. At Leiden, from 1976 until 1983, he directed the research of six Ph.D. students. He established a new laboratory at NASA's Ames Research Center in 1984. He opened up the field of interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with Xander Tielens and John Barker, and is heavily involved in the laboratory studies of PAHs under relevant interstellar conditions. He has also participated in astronomical measurements of infrared spectra using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory, the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. Dr. Allamandola has served on several NASA advisory councils and is currently an active member of the Origins Subcommittee at NASA Headquarters. He has served on several scientific organizing committees and as proceedings editor for international symposia. He received NASA-Ames' H. Julian Allen Award for Best Scientific Paper from Ames in 1985, NASA's Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1992, and was named an Ames Associate Fellow in 1995. To see a list of his scientific papers please use this hypertext link to Dr. Allamandola's current publications.

You can reach Dr. Allamandola by phone at (650) 604-6890, by Fax at (650) 604-6779, or by post at M/S 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000.

Here is a picture of Dr. Allamandola burning things in the lab for the entertainment of visiting students and teachers.

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Here he is by a cryovac system.

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