The Vulcan South Team
The Vulcan South project is a collaboration of people from
many organizations, universities, and industry. Much of the
design and construction work was done at NASA
Ames Research Center, in collaboration with team members
who are affiliated with Ames and the SETI
Institute.
Team Members
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Doug Caldwell, Principal Investigator, is responsible
for the overall project and will lead the scientific
analysis and interpretation. Dr. Caldwell has worked
on extrasolar planet detection since 1998 and is currently
with the SETI Institute and works on the Kepler
and Vulcan
Camera projects. Email Doug at dcaldwell@mail.arc.nasa.gov.
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Kevin Martin, Project Manager, also serves as
engineer, technician, electrician, and chief builder.
Kevin has been with the project since it was first proposed
as a technology demonstration in 1999. Email Kevin at
krmartin@mail.arc.nasa.gov.
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Fred Witteborn, retired from Ames, now with
Orbital Sciences Corporation,
designed and oversees construction and testing of the
photometer. Dr. Witteborn brings years of experience
building instruments to the project. Email Fred at fwitteborn@mail.arc.nasa.gov.
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Michael Ashley, CO-Investigator, leads the team
comprised of Jessica Dempsey, Jessie Christiansen,
Colin Bonner and others from the University
of New South Wales and coordinates with Mark
Jarnyk of the
Australian National University. This group has made
the project possible by donating a working telescope
mount and providing years of experience with astronomy
in Antarctica.
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William Borucki, Co-Investigator, serves as
a consultant and adviser on all aspects of the project.
Dr. Borucki is the Principal Investigator of both the
Kepler and Vulcan projects and brings years of photometry
and extrasolar planet detection experience to the project.
Email William at wborucki@mail.arc.nasa.gov.
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Laurance Doyle, CO-Investigator, will help plan
the observations, carry out data analysis, and conduct
follow-up observations. Dr. Doyle, of the SETI Institute
is a cofounder of PlanetQuest
a nonprofit organization dedicated to public education
and participation in planet detection and related sciences
on a global scale. He has also been doing extrasolar
planet research since before they were discovered. Email
Laurance at doyle@seti.org.
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Zoran Ninkov of the Center
for Imaging Science at the Rochester Institute of
Technology is a CO-Investigator and provided the large-format
CCD camera for the Vulcan South photometer. Dr. Ninkov
has been working with the Ames extrasolar planet detection
projects since 1997.
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Dana Hrubes,
Raytheon Polar Services Winterover Technician, is an
outstanding and continuously supportive member of the
team. Without Dana, many things that were accomplished
would not have been possible otherwise. Dana has winterovered
at the pole two seasons in a row in support of our project
as well as many others, and provides expert technical
support and oversight.
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Robert Showen, Chief Engineer, is responsible
for the overall system design and in particular the
software for the data system, control system, and archive
system. Dr. Showen has been with the project since its
inception. Email Robert at showen@shotspotter.com.
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San Francisco Industrial
Software developed our system software and has gone
above and beyond the call of duty in support of the
project, including sending the president, Jason Dunham
to the South Pole to support installation.
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Organizations
Contributors
We have established several important collaborations that
have helped us to build and deploy our system:
- Our prototype project was sponsored by NASA Ames Director's
Discretionary Funds (DDF).
- Center for Astrophysical
Research in Antarctica (CARA) (J. Carlstrom, S. Meyer,
R. Pernic): has expertise and experience in all aspects
of astronomy at the South Pole. They supported us on a test
deployment in January and February 2001, covering all travel,
infrastructure, and support expenses. Additionally, we are
working with them to share winterover support as part of
their astronomy work at the Pole. They will work with us
as both scientific and logistical partners.
- Ames (Codes FE, FEE, FM, FMX): have provided design, construction,
and test expertise. We have received design and construction
support for quick turnaround items for our photometer. We
have also received considerable support and assistance in
cold testing elements of the system. All of this support
has been supplied with very rapid turnaround at little or
no cost during our DDF prototype project, and during development
of the final system.
Special Thanks to:
- Mike Appio - Machining and construction
- Dan Gundo - Miscellaneous design and fabrication
- Sue Lehr and Lauren Milo at the SETI Institute for easing
our endless procurements
- Vast Manufacturing for their rapid and careful cable construction
- Jerry Jaramillo and the other folks at Roper Scientific
for their support in developing LabVIEW and Linux solutions
for our CCD camera
- Michelle Carbajal - Original Web Page Design and Support
- Pat Martin - Revised Web Page Design and Support
- Lynn Hofland - Emergency lens holder design (and Hank
in the Machine Shop for fabrication)
- Steve and Irene Thomas - Ice Crystal protection system
and insulating blanket
Corporate Partners
San Francisco Industrial Software,
Incorporated
207 Powell Street, Suite 800
San Francisco, California 94102
415.743.9350
415.743.9351 fax
info@sfis.com
Vast Manufacturing
811 Wakefield Dr.
Oakdale, CA 95361 USA
1-209-847-1252
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