Science

	Inger Jørgensen is the Head of Science Operations at Gemini North. She obtained her PhD in astronomy from Copenhagen University, Denmark, in 1993. Following a postdoctoral fellowship and a Hubble Fellowship at University of Texas, Austin, she joined Gemini in 1998. Her main research interests are the formation and evolution of galaxies. She currently leads an international research group carrying out an observational study of the stellar populations of galaxies in rich clusters between z=1 and the present using the Gemini Telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope. She can be reached here.

	Michael West is the Head of Science Operations at Gemini South. He can be reached here. He obtained his PhD in astronomy from Yale University in 1987, and joined Gemini in 2006 after six yeas as a Professor at the University of Hawaii in Hilo. His research interests include galaxy formation and evolution, star clusters, clusters of galaxies, and the large-scale structure of the universe. He is also active in public outreach, serving on the IAU Working Group 'Communicating Astronomy with the Public' and author of a general interest book titled A Gentle Rain of Starlight: The Story of Astronomy on Mauna Kea.

	Sybil Adams is a Systems Support Associate at Gemini South and can be reached here.

	Craig Allen is a IRAF Software Engineer at Gemini North, with a BA in philosophy from University of California at Berkeley. At school he focused on logic, math and science coursework. He has worked in software engineering for over 15 years, both in Astronomy software and also commercial internet software designing and implementing client/server and distributed network software. Former employers include NASA Ames Research Center, University of California Astronomy Department, Sierra Online, AT&T and AOL. Prior to coming to Gemini Craig worked as lead software engineer on various commercial development projects. In the past at Gemini Craig has worked on the software controls team on various tools and systems. Currently, Craig works as a software engineer in the Gemini data reduction software group. He can be reached here.

	Colin Aspin is a Scientist, having joined Gemini from the UK project office. He can be reached here. He obtained his PhD in Astronomy in 1981 from Glasgow University in Scotland where he studied the variable linear polarization of close binary stars. Following this, he first became a post-doctoral fellow then eventually a staff member, at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, Scotland where he worked closely with Dr. Ian McLean on the development of the first near-IR camera for UKIRT. He transferred to UKIRT in 1986 where he was a support astronomer for ten years before moving to the Nordic Optical Telescope, on the island of La Palma, as a Senior Staff Astronomer. In 1998 he moved to Oxford, England to help setup the UK National Gemini Office and after the first year there transferred to Hilo to work at the Gemini Observatory. Colin became a Gemini Scientist in 2001. His current research interests include young eruptive variable stars, close pre-main sequence binaries, and young stars with outflows and jets. His current major project is the interpretation of monitoring data on V1647 Orionis, the exciting/illuminating star of McNeil's Nebula. You can read more about Colin's research interests.

	Tracy Beck is a Science Fellow at Gemini North, and can be reached here. She received her BSc in Astrophysics in 1995 from UCLA and her Ph.D. in 2001 from the SUNY, Stony Brook under the supervision of Dr. Michal Simon. She came to Gemini in August 2001 directly from graduate school. At Gemini, she is the instrument scientist for the Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS). Her research interests include the formation and evolution of young, sun-like stars, especially infrared companion systems (IRCs), young star binaries and variable stars. Tracy is currently using the unique capabilities offered by Gemini's optical and infrared IFUs to investigate the structure of jets from young stellar objects. Tracy Beck's Research page.

	Marcel Bergmann is a Tenure-Track Astronomer at Gemini South, and can be reached here. He received his BSc in astronomy in 1996 from the California Institute of Technology, and his PhD in astronomy in 2002 from the University of Texas, at Austin. Marcel then worked as a postdoctoral fellow with the NOAO Gemini Science Center until he began his current position at Gemini in 2005. He is the Instrument Scientist for FLAMINGOS-2 and is a member of the GMOS support team. His research interests include the evolution of galaxies and their stellar populations, black holes and dark matter in galaxies and globular clusters, and post-starburst galaxies.

	Pablo Candia is a Data Analysis Specialist at Gemini South, and can be reached here.

	Rodrigo Carrasco is a Gemini Science Fellow at Gemini South, and can be reached here.

	Simon Chan is a Systems Support Associate at Gemini North, and can be reached here.

	Kristin Chiboucas is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at Gemini North, and can be reached here. She obtained her PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Michigan in 2003. She is currently working on galaxy evolution in clusters with Inger Jorgensen, studying scaling relations such as the Fundamental Plane back to redshifts of 1. Other interests include the effect of cluster environment on galaxy morphology and star formation rates, dwarf galaxy properties and cosmological importance, and the faint- end of the galaxy luminosity function.

	Jim De Buizer is a Science Fellow at Gemini South and is the T-ReCS Instrument Scientist. He can be reached here. He obtained his PhD in Astronomy in 2000 from the University of Florida. Before coming to Gemini in 2003, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. His research interests include the study of massive star formation from the High Mass Protostellar Object phase to the Ultracompact HII Phase; infrared studies of circumstellar disks, jets, and outflows; maser emission in star forming regions; the Supernova 1987A remnant; and mid-infrared studies of Active Galactic Nuclei. Jim De Buizer's Research Page

	Rubèn Diaz is a Science Fellow at Gemini South. He can be reached here. He obtained a PhD in astronomy in August 2004 at the National University of Cordoba, under Profs. Horacio Dottori (Brazil) and Gustavo Carranza (Argentina). He has worked several years at Cordoba Observatory as teacher, also in charge of the Public Outreach Brand and of the Bosque Alegre Telescope. His research interests are broadly extended in extragalactic astronomy, and recently focused in the fueling mechanisms of activity in galaxies.

	Thomas Dall is a Science Fellow at Gemini North. He can be reached here. He obtained his PhD from the University of Aarhus in 2001. Before joining Gemini, he worked at the Nordic Optical Telescope in La Palma, and at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. His research interests concentrate on stellar atmospheres, magnetism and stellar activity, and the effects of companions on the physics and chemical composition of stellar atmospheres.

	Matthew Dillman is a Data Analysis Specialist at Gemini North. He can be reached here. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 2005 with a BS in Computer Science and a minor in Astronomy/Astrophysics. As an undergraduate he worked as a research assistant for Professor Robert Brunner developing computer systems for use in source survey projects as well as assisting in attempts to derive better classification systems for high redshift quasars.

	Greg Doppmann is a Science Fellow at Gemini South and is the instrument scientist for GNIRS. He can be reached here. In 2002, he received his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin where he was active in several infrared instrumentation projects to develop new tools and techniques for spectroscopic studies in star formation. From 2002 to 2004, he was a National Research Council Fellow at NASA's Ames Research Center researching the physical properties of low mass protostars using high resolution near-infrared spectroscopy. Currently, he is studying pre-main sequence evolution of single and spectroscopic binary systems spanning medium, low, and sub-stellar masses, and fitting the observed spectral features of these objects to synthetic models to accurately probe their present physical state.

	Jay Farihi is a Post Doctorate Research Fellow at Gemini North. He can be reached here. He received his Ph.D. in Physics in 2004 from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he worked with Eric Becklin and Ben Zuckerman. At present he works with Inseok Song at Gemini North on Hubble Space Telescope and Adaptive Optics searches for planetary and substellar companions to nearby young stars. His research expertise lies in the field of white dwarfs; very low mass stellar/substellar companions and their evolution, extremely cool white dwarfs, near and mid infrared observations, dust and planetary system remnants. Jay Farihi's research page.

	Avi Parker Fhima is a Systems Support Assocaite at Gemini North. He can be reached here. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Hawaii in 2004. He started his first job in Astronomy as a T.O. for the UH 2.2-meter observatory. As a student he worked for NASA IRTF helping develop and implement programs for processing archived data and generate interactive web pages assessing the current state of the NASA 3 Meter Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) structure, mirror temperature, and dome environment which will provide information for future implementation of the facility's cooling systems. In addition to be an SSA, Avi enjoys developping database based web applications as well as programming in any language/scripts, especially for Data Analysis related applications.

	Scott Fisher is a Science Fellow at Gemini North and the Public Outreach Scientist for Gemini. Due to the dual nature of his appointment Scott spends half of his time on science and support and half on outreach to the science community as well as the public. He obtained a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Florida in 2001 and came to work for Gemini directly thereafter. Scott worked at Gemini during his grad-school days as the instrument scientist for OSCIR, a visiting instrument used to help commission Gemini north. Scott's research is centered in the study of planet-forming circumstellar disks, however, he has branched out into many facets of mid-infrared astronomy. Some of his current research projects span the range from nearby comets to distant active galactic nuclei. He can be reached here.

	Marty Fyfe is a Science Intern at Gemini North and can be reached here

	Jorge Garcia is a Data Analysis Specialist. He was previously Gemini's GSC-II Science Fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute, but now lives in Chile. He can be reached here.

	Tom Geballe is a Senior Astronomer at Gemini Observatory in Hilo. He obtained a PhD in physics in 1974 under Prof. Charles Townes at U.C. Berkeley. Following postdoctoral fellowships at Berkeley, Leiden, and a Carnegie Fellowship at Hale Observatories in Pasadena, he became a staff astronomer at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope in 1981. He was Astronomer-in-charge, Associate Director, and Head of Operations at UKIRT from 1987 until 1998. Among his research interests are the galactic center, the physics of quiescent and shocked molecular clouds, the late stages of stellar evolution, the composition of interstellar dust, the surfaces, atmospheres, and aurorae of planets and moons, and brown dwarfs. Recent significant first author papers include several on spectroscopy and classification of brown dwarfs, the detection of H3+ in both dark and diffuse interstellar clouds, and the infrared evolution of Sakurai's Object. He can be reached here.

	Percy Gomez is a Science Fellow at Gemini South. He can be reached here. He obtained a PhD in Astronomy in 2000 at New Mexico State University. Following postdoctoral fellowships at Rutgers and at Carnegie-Mellon University, he became a Gemini Science Fellow in 2003. His research interests are the study of galaxy and galaxy cluster physics and evolution by analyzing multiwavelength (i.e., millimeter, IR, optical, and X-ray) observations of galaxy clusters.

	Randy Grashuis is a Systems Support Associate at Gemini South, and can be reached here.

	Damien Gratadour is a AO Science Fellowat Gemini North. Before joining Gemini in January 2006, he obtained a Master degree in Theoretical Physics in 2001 from Université Denis Diderot in Paris and a PhD in astronomy in 2005 from Université Denis Diderot and Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, supported by a CNRS grant for engineer. AO systems and image restoration are his primary research interests. He applies this knowledge to high angular resolution and high contrast observations of distant objects, such as active galactic nuclei, in the near-IR, to study the interaction between the active core and its environment (starforming regions, dust, ionized gas, micro-bars/spirals). Physics of dust and radiative transfer are also among his research interests. He can be reached here.

	Marie-Claire Hainaut-Rouelle is a Systems Support Associate at Gemini South. She can be reached here.

	Thomas Hayward is an Associate Scienist at Gemini South. He was recently appointed as Project Scientist for Emissivity Control and Background Optimization, and can be reached here. He obtained a Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Wyoming in 1989, and was a Senior Research Associate at Cornell University before joining Gemini in 2000. At Gemini, Tom was the T-ReCS instrument scientist from 2000 to 2004, and has been the NICI instrument scientist since 2004. Tom's research interests are in the areas of mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy of star-forming regions, circumstellar disks, and comets, in order to study properties of their dust and gas.

	Paul Hirst is a Project Scientist for Dataflow System & Products at Gemini North, and can be reached here.

	Jennifer Holt is a Data Process Developer at Gemini North, and can be reached here.

	Joe Jensen is the Instrument Program Scientist at the Gemini Office in Tucson. He received his BSc in astronomy from the California Institute of Technology in 1992 and his PhD in astronomy from the University of Hawaii in 1997. Joe uses high-resolution infrared images to measure surface brightness fluctuations in distant galaxies to determine their distances and compositions. You can view more information on Joe's research interests and Gemini duties. Joe can be reached here.

	Kathleen Labrie is an Assistant Scientist at Gemini North and can be reached here. She received her B.Sc. in Physics from Universite Laval (Quebec City) in 1994, and obtained her PhD. in Physics from University of Victoria (Victoria, British Columbia) in 2003, under the supervision of Prof. Chris J. Pritchet. She is currently the Project Lead for Gemini's data reduction software. Her main research interests are related to starburst galaxies, supernova feedback and supernova remnants, and ISM processes.

	Henry Lee is a Gemini Science Fellow at Gemini South and can be reached here. After obtaining his PhD in astronomy from York University in Toronto in 2001, he went on to research positions at the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, and the University of Minnesota. His research interests include chemical evolution and the history of star-formation in dwarf galaxies, luminosity-metallicity and mass-metallicity relations of galaxies, galaxy evolution within groups and clusters of galaxies, and galaxy remnants in the intracluster medium..

	Sandy Leggett is an Assistant Astronomer at Gemini North and can be reached here. She came from the UK Infrared Telescope, where she was a Support Astronomer for ten years (and Senior Support Astronomer for two). Prior to UKIRT, she was a Support Astronomer at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility from 1994 to 1996, and a visiting Assistant Professor at UH Hilo from 1993 to 1994. Between 1988 and 1992 she was a Research Associate at the Naval Observatory in Flagstaff Arizona, assisting with their parallax program, and carrying out optical and infrared observational studies of cool white dwarfs and red dwarfs. Her first postdoctoral position took her to Edinburgh University from 1984 to 1988, where her interest in cool dwarfs (white, red and brown), and her frequent use of Mauna Kea telescopes, started. Sandy obtained her BA in Physics in 1980, and her PhD in Astrophysics in 1984, both at the University of Oxford. Current interests include infrared photometric calibrations, and observational studies of the atmospheres of cool white dwarfs and the very cool brown dwarfs. In particular, Sandy and her collaborators are using optical through mid-infrared data in combination with complex atmospheric models, to try to understand the physical mechanisms behind the L- through T-dwarf spectral sequence.

	Steven Margheim is a Science Fellow at Gemini South and can be reached here.

	Rachel Mason is a Science Fellow at Gemini North and can be reached here. She took up this position after a postdoctoral fellowship at the NOAO Gemini Science Center (in both Tucson and La Serena), having obtained a PhD in astronomy from the Institute for Astronomy, Edinburgh, in 2003. Her research interests include the central regions of AGN, studied primarily through high angular resolution infrared imaging and spectroscopy, and the chemistry of dust in both our own and other galaxies.

	Anthony Matulonis is a Systems Support Associate at Gemini North, and can be reached here. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Astronomy from the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 2002. After working as an Interpretive Guide at the Ellison Onizuka Center for International Astronomy Visitor Information Station, Observatory Night Attendant at the NASA IRTF, and Telescope Operator at the UH 2.2-meter on Mauna Kea, he joined the Gemini Observatory in 2003. His interests include adaptive optics and laser guide star systems.

	Bryan Miller is an Lead Scientst for Science Operations Development at Gemini South. He can be reached here. He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Washington in 1994. He held postdoctoral positions at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the Space Telescope Science Institute from 1994 to 1997 and at the University of Leiden from 1997 through 1999. He has been a staff astronomer at Gemini since early 2000. His research interests include the star formation histories of dwarf galaxies, HII region abundances, globular cluster systems, merging galaxies, galactic dynamics and kinematically decoupled cores, and integral-field spectroscopy. Bryan Miller's Research page.

	Atsuko Nitta is a Gemini Science Fellow at Gemini North and can be reached here. She obtained a PhD in 2000 at University of Texas at Austin. After graduation, she worked for Sloan Digital Sky Survey for 5 years before joining Gemini Observatory. Her research interest includes studies of white dwarf stars to learn about the physics under extreme conditions, place constraints on stellar evolution prior to becoming white dwarf stars, and using them to trace the stellar evolution history.

	Anthony O'Brien is a Systems Support Associate at Gemini South, and can be reached here. He obtained a degree in Physics from the Curtin University Of Technology in Perth Westrern Australia in 2003. He taught Physics and Electromagnetics at the same university for 2004 before taking up his current position with Gemini in January 2005. Among his research interests is mirror seeing of large telescopes, laser propogation and detection/measurement, Trojan Asteroid systems and energy sources of quasar radio jets.

	Pablo Prado is a Systems Support Associate at Gemini South. He can be reached here.

	James Radomski is a Science Fellow at Gemini South. He can be reached here. He recieved his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Florida in 2003. Before coming to Gemini in 2005 he worked as a postdoc at the University of Florida with the instrumentation team on the mid-IR instrument CanariCam for the 10m Gran Telescopio Canarias. He currently works closely with other scientists at Gemini with the facility mid-IR instrument T-ReCS. His research interests include mid-IR imaging/spectroscopy in combination with multiwavelength observations of nearby AGN and Ultra Luminous IR Galaxies. In addition, he has worked with collaborators on mid-IR observations of UCHII and massive star formation regions as well circumstellar disks.

	Joseph Rhee is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at Gemini North. He can be reached here.

	François Rigaut is the Senior Scientist for Adaptive Optics. He can be reached here.

	Bernadette Rodgers is a Assistant Astronomer at Gemini South. She obtained a PhD in Astronomy at the University of Washington in 2000 and came to Gemini as a Science Fellow shortly thereafter, in August 2000. Bernadette received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Delaware in 1984 and a Masters of Science in Physics from New York University in 1990. Before going into astronomy, she worked in the space industry for several years, first with Department of Defense satellites and then Space Shuttle science missions at NASA Ames Research Center. Bernadette's research is primarily related to star formation including intermediate-mass young stars and binary systems, circumstellar disks and disk activity as observed through optical and near-infrared spectroscopy. She can be reached here.

	Kathy Roth is a Assistant Scientist at Gemini North. She joined Gemini in August 2000 and can be reached here. She obtained her BSc in Physics and Computer Science at Duke University in 1985 and her PhD in Astrophysics from Northwestern University in 1992. She held a postdoctoral position at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore from 1992 until 1995, followed by a Hubble Fellowship at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy from 1995 until 1998. In 1998 she joined the staff of the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) at Johns Hopkins University back in Baltimore, and has been back in Hawaii as part of the Gemini Observatory staff since July 2000. Her research interests include the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium in our galaxy and in the high redshift universe via quasar absorption line spectroscopy, the study of young high redshift galaxies, and the use of gamma ray bursts to probe chemical enrichment at the highest redshifts of the first stars.

	Wendy Shook is a Data Analysis Specialist at Gemini North. She joined Gemini in July 2000 and can be reached here. She earned her BSc in Physics and Astronomy (Co-op) from the University of Victoria, BC, Canada, in 1996. After four years operating telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatories, she came to be a System Support Associate at Gemini North in 2000. Since then, she has been involved in the flow, quality assessment and distribution of data at Gemini North. She became a Data Analysis Specialist in 2005.

	Inseok Song is a Tenure-Track Astronomer at Gemini North. He can be reached here. He obtained BS & MEd degrees from Seoul National University (Korea) and his Ph.D. degree in physics in 2000 at University of Georgia. Then he started a NASA Astrobiology post-doctoral position at UCLA and continued his research at UCLA as an assistant scientist during 2002-2004. In 2004, he joined Gemini Observatory as a tenure-track astronomer. His research interests include identification of nearby young stellar groups, direct imaging detection of extra solar planets, formation and evolution of exo-planetary systems, and debris disks. Recent notable papers include an Annual Review article on "Young Stars Near the Earth" and a Nature paper on the dustiest warm excess star, BD+20 307, known to date. The huge amount of warm dust around BD+20 307 is only explained by recent huge collisions between planetesimals or planets which is similar to the one that created the Earth-Moon system in our Solar system about 4 billion years ago.

	Andrew Stephens is a Science Fellow at Gemini North, and can be reached here. He obtained his BS in 1996 from the Pennsylvania State University, and his PhD in 2001 from the Ohio State University, both in astronomy. He was awarded the Princeton - Catolica Prize Fellowship in 2001, of which 1 year was spent at Princeton University, and 2 years at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Santiago Chile. In 2004 he began work at Gemini. His research interests include galaxy formation and evolution through the study of resolved stellar populations using space-based telescopes and ground-based telescopes with adaptive optics, and stellar chemical abundances and dynamics via optical and infrared spectroscopy.

	Gelys Trancho is a Systems Support Associate and can be reached here. She received her BA in Physics in 1998, her MPhil in Astrophysics in 2003 and her 'Diploma de Estudios Avanzados' in Astrophysics in 2004 from the University of La Laguna in Tenerife, Spain. She is currently working, part-time, on completing the requirements for a PhD in Physics, Honors Astrophysics, at the University of La Laguna. Her field of research is extragalactic star clusters in merging galaxies, and galaxy formation. She became a System Support Associate at Gemini in 2000, after three years of operating telescopes at IAC/TNG, Observatorio Roque de los Muchachos, in La Palma, Spain.

	Chad Trujillo is a Science Fellow at Gemini North and can be reached here.

	James Turner is a Science Fellow at Gemini South. He can be reached here.

	Kevin Volk is a Science Fellow at Gemini North. He can be reached here. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Calgary in 1986. He held a number of postdoctoral research positions between 1986 and 2003 before joining Gemini South, including two years at NASA Ames Research Center and several years of work on the ODIN sub-millimeter satellite which was lanched in 2001. He moved to Gemini North in 2005. His research interests are the study of planetary nebulae and of the circumstellar dust shells around evolved stars, especially in the mid-infrared.

	Brian Walls is a Systems Support Associate at Gemini North. He can be reached here. He received his BS in Computer Science and Physics/Astronomy from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. At ASU he was an operator/observer on the 32" telescope at Dark Sky Observatory. He joined the Gemini team in 1999. He is also the Lead Programmer for the Gemini Integration Time Calculator.

	Dolores Walther is the Lead Senior Systems Support Associate at Gemini North. She received her BA in Mathematics from the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 1982 and her MPhil in Astronomy in 1993 from the University of Central Lancashire, England. She was a telescope operator at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope from 1983 to 1997. In 1993 she became an Afficliate Astronomer at the Joint Astronomy Centre until 1997, when she joined the Gemini North Operation.Her research interests are in Star Formation, Bipolar Outflows, Vega-Excess type stars and Brown Dwarfs. Dolores can be reached here.

	Erich Wenderoth is a Systems Support Associate at Gemini South. He can be reached here. He is getting his Master degree in Physics, Honors Astrophysics, at the University of La Serena. Before coming to Gemini in February 2005, he worked at ESO/La Silla for nine years. As Research Associate, he is co-author of several publications on Photometry of Globular Clusters. He is now working in Photometry and Spectroscopy of Southern Ring Galaxies.

	Claudia Winge is a Assistant Scientist at Gemini South. She can be reached here.

	Andre Wong is a Data Analysis Specialist at Gemini North. He can be reached here. He graduated from UCLA in 2006 with a BS in Astrophysics. As an undergraduate, Andre worked as a research assisstant to Professor Matthew Malkan. There he worked on an investigation of IR emission line galaxies in the Groth Strip and Subaru Deep Fields.