Vulcan Camera Team Members

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Bill Borucki
Principal Investigator
wborucki@mail.arc.nasa.gov

William Borucki is a research scientist in the Planetary Studies Branch ofthe NASA Ames Research Center. He received a BS and MS degrees in physics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1960 and 1962, respectively, anda MS in meteorology from California State University in 1982.
From 1962 through 1972, he conducted laboratory and theoretical studies of the radiation environment of entry vehicles. During this period, he developed spectroscopic instrumentation to determine the plasma properties of hypervelocity shock waves. The results of the investigations were used in the design of the heat shields for the Apollo missions. In 1972 he joined the Theoretical Studies Branch and developed photochemical models ofthe Earth's stratosphere and mesosphere to investigate the impact of nitricoxide and fluorocarbon emissions on ozone.
Later, he investigated the effects of lightning activity in planetary atmospheres and conducted laboratory efforts to determine the optical efficiency of lightning in each type of atmosphere. In conjunction with spacecraft observations, these measurements were used to deduce the production rate of prebiological molecules in planetary atmospheres. He also participated in spacecraft observations to determine the amount and distribution of lightning activity on other planets. From 1988 through1990 he was a guest investigator for the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and he is now a co-investigator on the Huygens-Cassini mission to Titan.
Since 1984 he has actively pursued the development of the photometric method for finding other planetary systems. Several of his published papers discuss the capabilities of the photometric method in the presence of stellar variability and instrument noise. He is the principal investigator for both the Kepler spacecraft mission and the Vulcan project. The Kepler mission is a proposed mission that can discover Earth-size planets in and near the habitable zone around solar-like stars. The Vulcan project is a ground-based program to measure the size and density of jovian-size extrasolar planets around stars of varying stellar type and metallicity.

Dave Koch
dkoch@mail.arc.nasa.gov

David Koch, astrophysicist, received his BS (67) from UW-Madison, and MS(71) and PhD (72) in physics from Cornell University. He has instrument development experience covering the spectrum from gamma-ray and x-ray to the IR and submillimeter. His educational and public outreach backgrounds include: creator of the FOSTER program, interactive educational software development and website construction. He has experience as: Project Scientist for Uhuru (SAS-1), Einstein (HEAO-2), and Spacelab-2 InfraRedTelescope. He is a Co-I on the soon to be launched Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite and Deputy PI on the proposed Kepler Mission.

For the Vulcan project he has helped to put the system together, worked on the autoguider, aligned the polar axis, done some of the observing and helped with some of the programming.

Jack Lissauer
jlissauer@ringside.arc.nasa.gov

Jack J. Lissauer is a Space Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, whoseprimary area of expertise is theoretical modeling of the formation of planetary systems. Dr. Lissauer received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1982. He was a postdoctoral researcher at NASA Ames and U.C. Santa Barbara prior to joining the faculty at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1987. He moved from Stony Brook back to NASA Ames in 1996.

In addition to developing models of the formation and stability ofplanetary systems, Dr. Lissauer is participating in the radial velocity planet search program led by Dr. Geoff Marcy and is a co-discoverer of the nearest known extrasolar planet, which orbits the Mdwarf star Gliese 876.
Dr. Lissauer contributes to the Vulcan Project by helping to select star fields and observing strategies based on theoretical models and on the potential for follow-up observations of planetary candidates via radial velocity measurements.

Kevin Martin
Krmartin@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Official Involvement:
Evaluation and costing of the Dome Automation Project and the DomeInternet Connectivity Project. Assisted in the preparation of the costfigure for the recently selected Vulcan Camera Origins proposal. Responsible for the cost section of the Kepler proposal. Currently evaluating shutter automation.

Volunteer Involvement:
Working with the observatories PC's and other finicky equipment. Installed the Crocker Dome local area network. Installed the DigitalDome Works dome automation equipment.

Background:
Masters Degree in Business from San Francisco State University. BS inBusiness from the California Maritime Academy. Eclectic past experiences include: Marine Corps aircraft mechanic, Pacific Stock Exchange quote terminal operator, computer lab technician, U.S. Merchant Mariner, database designer at Genentech. Currently pursuing a Masters of Science inSpace Studies at the University of North Dakota.

Larry Webster
lwebster@mail.arc.nasa.gov

From 1994 to date, Mr. Webster has managed theprePhase A and Phase A development of the Kepler Mission, previously called FRESIP. He has been intimately involved in the development of the project's science, systems engineering and technical proof-of-concept activities. His systems analysis is responsible for changing the mission concept froman L2 orbit into heliocentric orbit, removing the propulsion system, cutting the mass by 54%, reducing the cost by $26M. These changes added a significant increase in science now proposed for the Kepler Mission. From1989 through 1993, Mr. Webster served as the Project Manager for NASA's $65M High Resolution Microwave Survey/Targeted Search Project. The Targeted Search System analyzes the microwave emissions from target stars from 1-3 Ghz in 20 Mhz slices with 1 Hz resolution looking for continuous wave or pulsed narrowband (non-natural) emissions with extremely low signal-to-noise ratio. Detection indicates the presence of an intelligently generated signal emanating from the direction of the target. This project, now privately funded through the SETI Institute, is known as Project Phoenix.

Mr. Webster managed the development of this project from Phase A through Phase E, including initial operations at the 1000' antenna of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and the establishment of field operations on the 64 meter antenna at Parkes, Australia. The Targeted Search Project represented a major hardware and software development effort and was produced below cost and on schedule. The system produced is a unique design, gigaflop/second data processing system housed in an EMI shielded (80db), Military Air Transport portable trailer. The time from the beginning of Phase A to initial operation of the equipment was 29 months. The pulse detector algorithm developed for the Targeted Search is the same algorithm used by Kepler for planet detection.

Doug Caldwell
dcaldwell@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Position: SETI Institute, Sept 2001 - present,NRC Research Associate Sept 1998 - Sept 2001

I am working on data analysis & scientific interpretation of Vulcan observations. I did some observing in December 1997 and have been on the project full-time since April 1998, first with the SETI Institute, then as an NRC Associate, and now back with the SETI Institute.

Background: PhD Physics 1997, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY.
My PhD work was a study of star formation in the Magellanic Clouds, two nearby Galaxies. I used infrared & millimeter observations to try to understand environmental influences on the formation of massive stars. The principal result was that massive stars can form equally well under a large range of environmental conditions.
BS Physics 1986, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. After my BS degree I worked for three years as an Electronics Engineer for the Navy (as a civilian) at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Pt. Hueneme, CA. I mainly worked on test programs for ship defense missles, before deciding to return to school and study astrophysics.

Jon Jenkins
jjenkins@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Robert Showen
rshowen@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Natalie Batalha
natalie@pollack.arc.nasa.gov

Position: NRC Research Associate March 2000 - present.