Inter[stellar and galactic] Medium Program of Studies (IMPS)
at UC Santa Cruz/Lick Observatory

Anthony Aguirre Professor Aguirre of the Department of Physics is one of the Program leaders. His astrophysics work has focused on numerically modeling enrichment of the intergalactic medium with metals and dust using numerical and semi-analytic calculations, and in analyzing QSO spectra to assess the observed metallicity of the IGM at all redshifts.

Serena Bertone Postdoctoral fellow Bertone is pursuing research on the enrichment of the intergalactic mediumin the early universe with Prof. Aguirre. She is a leading expert on the impact of winds on galaxies and the IGM.

Kathy Cooksey PhD student Cooksey is pursuing thesis research on the enrichment of the intergalactic medium at low redshifts through a survey of OVI, CIV, CIII, and SiIV using archival UV spectra. She is also studying the galactic environment of intergalactic absorbers.

Andrew Fittingoff Recent UCSC graduate Fittingoff is leading a project to identify bright UV sources within or behind M31 through GALEX image of its galactic halo.

Jason Kalirai Hubble Fellow Kalirai is an expert in white dwarfs, globular clusters, and the stellar components of M31. He is involved in a project designed to study the gaseous halo of Andromeda.

Kyle KaplanUndergraduate Kyle Kaplan is currently working on analyzing the spectral absorption lines of metal strong damped Lya systems from quasar spectra. His interests include galaxies, quasars, and the evolution of the universe.

Mark Krumholz Professor Krumholz is one of the Program leaders. His research interests include star formation in the local universe, molecular cloud structure and evolution, and interstellar turbulence, using a mix of large-scale simulation and analytic theory.

Doug Lin Professor Lin is one of the Program leaders. His research interests include studies of star formation, the ISM of dwarf galaxies, and stellar accretion disks.

Piero Madau Professor Madau is one of the Program leaders. His research interests include metal enrichment in the early universe, studying the reionization epoch through 21cm observations, and....

Bill Mathews Bill Mathews Emeritus Professor Mathews has worked on many problems involving the dynamics and physics of the ISM, quasar clouds and hot gas in galaxy clusters. In recent years he has studied AGN feedback in galaxy groups and clusters involving gas dynamics, cosmic rays, and dust cooling.

Lindsey Pollack PhD student Pollack is studying high-redshift GRB host galaxies and intervening DLA systems along their sightlines. Her goal is to identify and analyze the stellar counterparts of these absorbing systems, for which we have fortuitously measured neutral hydrogen column densities and metallicities using the GRB afterglow as the background source. She is particularly interested in using the Keck adaptive optics system to detect and resolve these distant galaxies.

Jason X. Prochaska Professor Prochaska is one of the Program leaders. His research interests include studying damped Lya systems toward quasars and gamma-ray bursts, tracing the metal enrichment of the low redshift IGM, and a variety of other ISM activities. xavier at ucolick.org

Kate Rubin PhD student Rubin is pursuing thesis research on galactic outflows at intermediate redshifts using rest-frame UV absorption lines from low-ionization metals. She also has an interest in MgII absorption systems.

Arthur Wolfe Arthur Wolfe is Professor of Physics at the University of California, San Diego. Art is the godfather of research on the damped Lya systems. His current interests include exploring the magnetic fields, star formation rates, and physical conditions of the ISM in high z galaxies.

Gabor Worseck Postdoctoral fellow Worseck is pursuing research on the detection of intergalactic singly ionized helium towards quasars and its implications on the reionization history of helium and the evolution of the UV background. He is also interested in radiative feedback of quasars onto the IGM and recovering the three-dimensional structure of the IGM on adjacent quasar sightlines.