Dr. Michael A. Pahre
Senior Physics Author
Education
Experience
Fields of Expertise
Major Projects
Awards
Professional Activities
Selected Publications
Lectures and Presentations
- Ph.D. in Astronomy, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), 1998.
- A.B. cum laude in Physics, Astronomy, and Astrophysics, Harvard College, 1989.
Experience
- Astrophysicist, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 2001-2011. Research Associate, 2011- .
- Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 1998-2001.
- Teaching Assistant, Department of Astronomy, Caltech, 1993-1995; and Harvard College, 1992.
- Astronomer, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 1991-1992.
- Secondary School Physics Teacher, U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, Nkroful Agricultural Secondary School, Ghana, 1989-1991.
Fields of Expertise
- Research: infrared observational astronomy; structure, star formation history, and evolution of "normal" galaxies; infrared instrumentation.
- Software: more than two decades of experience in software development using a variety of programming languages, scripting languages, and operating systems.
- Data analysis: extensive experience handling large data sets, developing quality assurance processes, and representing data graphically.
- Education: experience teaching secondary school physics, developing educator resource materials, and supervising student research projects.
Major Projects
- Member of team that successfully built, tested, and commissioned the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), a scientific instrument launched on NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in 2003.
- Member of science team that defined and carried out a broad research program for guaranteed time on the Spitzer Space Telescope.
- Member of team that designed and built an infrared array imaging camera that was commissioned on the Palomar 60-inch Telescope in 1994.
Awards
- NASA Group Achievement Award, 2011, for Spitzer Space Telescope battery heater data analysis and operations.
- NASA Public Service Group Achievement Award, 2005, for in-flight commissioning of the IRAC instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope.
- NASA Group Achievement Award, 2004, for development of one of three scientific instruments for the Spitzer Space Telescope.
- Robert J. Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 2001, for outstanding doctoral dissertation in astronomy in North America.
- Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow, 1998-2001.
- Jesse Greenstein Prize Fellowship, 1994, Caltech.
- Lewis A. Kingsley Graduate Fellowship, 1993, Caltech.
- Earle C. Anthony Fellowship, 1992, Caltech.
Professional Activities
- More than 150 publications in research astronomy and astrophysics, including more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
- Peer reviewer for: telescope time allocation committees (Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory); research grant programs (NASA Astronomical Data Analysis and Theoretical Astrophysics); and research journals (The Astrophysical Journal, The Astronomical Journal, and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society).
- As principal investigator, awarded more than $1 million in research funding from NASA.
- Member of American Astronomical Society, National Science Teachers Association, and American Association of Physics Teachers.
- Teaching license in secondary school physics (8-12) in Massachusetts, #453043. NCLB highly-qualified.
Selected Publications
- "An almost head-on collision as the origin of two off-centre rings in the Andromeda galaxy." Block, D. L., et al. 2006, Nature, 443, 832-834.
- "Mid-Infrared Selection of Active Galaxies." Stern, D., et al. 2005, ApJ, 631, 163-168.
- "Mid-Infrared Galaxy Morphology along the Hubble Sequence." Pahre, M. A., et al. 2004, ApJS, 154, 235-241.
- "The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) for the Spitzer Space Telescope." Fazio, G. G., et al. 2004, ApJS, 154, 10-17.
- "The K-Band Galaxy Luminosity Function." Kochanek, C. S., et al. 2001, ApJ, 560, 566-579.
- "The evolutionary history of early-type galaxies as derived from the fundamental plane." Pahre, M. A., Djorgovski, S. G., & de Carvalho, R. R. 2001, ApSS, 276, 983-990.
- "Near-Infrared Imaging of Early-Type Galaxies. III. The Near-Infrared Fundamental Plane." Pahre, M. A., Djorgovski, S. G., & de Carvalho, R. R. 1998, AJ, 116, 1591-1605.
- "Elliptical Galaxies: Structure, Stellar Content, and Evolution." Pahre, M. A. 1998, Ph.D. Thesis, California Institute of Technology, 337pp.
- "A Tolman Surface Brightness Test for Universal Expansion and the Evolution of Elliptical Galaxies in Distant Clusters." Pahre, M. A., Djorgovski, S. G., & de Carvalho, R. R. 1996, ApJ, 456, L79.
- "An Infrared Camera for the Palomar Observatory 60-inch Telescope." Murphy, D. C., et al. 1995, PASP, 107, 1234.
- "The dispersion in the near-infrared surface brightness fluctuations in the Virgo cluster. " Pahre, M. A., & Mould, J. R. 1994, ApJ, 433, 567-576.
Lectures and Presentations
- Has presented dozens of seminars, colloquia, and invited talks at universities and scientific conferences around the world.
- Delivered two public lectures for the Smithsonian Associates and the Nationals Science Teachers Association.
- Research results have been featured in many stories in the popular press.