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.

Robert da SilvaBeginning graduate student with interests in galaxy and quasar formation. Currently studying quasars involved in mergers.

Michele Fumagalli is interested in galaxy formation and evolution. He is studying the physics of the star formation and of the gas in both local and distant galaxies. He is also interested in the ISM/IGM interactions to understand the effects of the different environments on the galaxy evolution

Joseph Hennawi Dr. Hennawi, now a research group leader at MPIA, leads several IGM programs related to spectroscopy of quasar pairs. He is a close collaborator of JXP and a regular visitor to UCSC.

Jason Kalirai Dr. Kalirai, now at STScI, 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.

John O'Meara Dr. O'Meara research interests include statistics of the Lyman alpha forest, Lyman limit and damped Lyman alpha systems, the IGM/galaxy interface, and observational tests of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis models using the D/H ratio. Dr. O'Meara is an assistant professor of Physics at Saint Michael's College.

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.

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.