People

Picture of Dani Crawford

Danielle Crawford

Title/Position
Senior Systems Administrator
Dani is Science Operations Center (SOC) manager for TRACERS and was SOC Manager for EMFISIS instrument on Van Allen Probes, launched 2012.
Fernando Cruz Aguirre, Ph.D.

Fernando Cruz Aguirre, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Fernando Cruz Aguirre is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar shared between the Hoadley UV Space Lab (HUSL) and the DeRoo Research Group. His research interests include the ultraviolet radiation environments around stars smaller than, similar to, and a bit larger than the Sun, and their impact on planetary habitability. He is also interested in optical design and technology development for space missions.
Daneshmand, Lillian

Lillian Daneshmand

Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Das, Laksha

Laksha Pradip Das

Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Greyson Davis

Greyson Davis

Title/Position
Research Associate
Greyson works on the design, implementation, and verification of ground and spaceflight communication systems. He is the communications subsystem lead for Fireball-2, a UV balloon telescope designed to map the circumgalactic medium of galaxies to understand the role it plays in galaxy evolution. Greyson is also on the detector subsystem team for Aspera, a SmallSat designed to study the intergalactic medium between galaxies. Additionally, Greyson provides electrical design support for HUSL’s suborbital and space instrumentation programs.
Paul Debbins

Paul Debbins

Title/Position
E & A Project Specialist
Casey DeRoo

Casey DeRoo, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Assistant Professor
Casey DeRoo studies the UV/X-ray sky and the instrumentation needed to make effective astronomical measurements at these wavelengths. His research focuses on the fabrication, characterization, and use of diffraction gratings in spectrometers and on thin, high performance mirrors for high energy telescopes. For his work developing freeform grating patterns on curved surfaces, Prof. DeRoo was named a Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellow by NASA’s Astrophysics Division in 2021.
Dewald_Andrew

Andrew Dewald

Title/Position
Graduate Student
Jeff Dolan

Jeff Dolan

Title/Position
Principal Engineer
Dolan is the instrument systems engineer for the TRACERS project. He served as the lead system engineer for the design, delivery, and assembly of electric and magnetic field instruments flown on the NASA sponsored Van Allen Probe spacecraft. He successfully collaborated with colleagues across the nation, supporting the integration and testing of the instruments following their installation.
Richard Dvorsky

Richard Dvorsky

Title/Position
Aerospace Principal Engineer (Mechanical)
Mechanical Engineer, Mechanical Systems Engineer Projects: Juno, Van Allen Probes, MMS, TRACERS, Sounding Rockets
adrian-elcock

Adrian Elcock, Ph.D.

Adrian Elcock is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Iowa and has a secondary appointment in the Department of Physics and Astronomy
mike estenson

Mike A. Estenson

Title/Position
Research Design Engineering Manager
CLAS Research Support, Design, Engineering, Repair, Calibration, ESD support, Troubleshooting Projects: Support all of U of I campus, and outside customers for technical support needs. Includes diverse projects from many colleges and departments.
Jeremy Faden

Jeremy B. Faden

Title/Position
Application Developer
Jeremy provides software for data analysis and visualization, supporting ad-hoc studies and long-lived systems.
fasano

Cecilia Fasano

Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant
Graduate Student Advisory Committee Member
Graduate Student Mentor
Cecilia Fasano’s research interests lie at the intersection of nanofabrication, technology development, and astrophysics. She is currently working with Prof. Casey DeRoo and Prof. Keri Hoadley on a project designing and fabricating the next generation of x-ray and UV gratings for use in astronomical instrumentation. She is on the Graduate Mentors leadership team.
Fehr

David Fehr

Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant
Graduate Student Advisory Committee Member
David Fehr is interested in condensed matter theory research and currently works with Dr. Flatté, studying the theory of spin coherence of molecules with nanoscale confinement . Before coming to the University of Iowa, David double majored in music and physics as an undergraduate and earned a master's degree in physics at the University of North Dakota.
Felix, Alberto

Alberto Felix

Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Feltman

Connor Feltman

Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant
Connor Feltman works with Dr. Craig Kletzing and Dr. Scott Bounds researching Space Plasma as pertaining to auroral phenomena. He engages in testing hardware and processing data for rocket missions launched into the northern hemisphere to observe the connection between auroral events, their composite particles and Earth's magnetic field.
Glen Fessenden

Glen Fessenden

Title/Position
Engineering Coordinator
He graduated from U of Iowa in 1988 with a BS degree in Physics.. As a student he had the pleasure of having Dr. Van Allen during Van Allen’s last class he would teach. He also worked with Dr Van Allen as Vice President of SPS in organizing speakers and trips. Later he worked as an engineer in the Space Physics group. For the next 26 years this help produce quality products in telephony and educational software. In Aug 2022 Glen returned to The Space Physics group to continue to test, repair, support, and prepare rooms for Space Flight components. “I am excited to return to the best job I ever had and it just keeps getting better”
Matthew Finley

Matthew G. Finley, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Matthew Finley is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Miles Research Lab. He received his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa in 2021, where he developed novel techniques for 3D range geometry compression. Finley's research interests include applied signal processing, digital image processing, and system optimization.
Michael Flatté

Michael E. Flatté, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Professor
Michael E. Flatté is a Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa. His research interests include condensed-matter theory, materials theory, quantum coherent systems and quantum information.
Thomas Folland 2

Thomas Folland, Ph.D.

Prof. Folland works on infrared nanophotonics and quantum materials research, from fundamental properties to device applications. In his lab students measure and understand the properties of exotic materials allowing him to design better infrared light detectors and emitters. These can be implemented for numerous applications, from detecting toxic chemicals in the environment, to creating emergent quantum phenomena. In parallel to his research, Prof. Folland is an active member of the materials research society, supporting early career professional development.
Ford, Tyler

Tyler Ford

Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Fruchtman

Jacob Fruchtman

Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant
Jacob Fruchtman is interested in studying the Martian Magentosphere. He is currently working with Professor Jasper Halekas on a project analyzing the MAVEN spacecraft's data to characterize the Martian Bow Shock to find how it varies by season.
Hai Fu

Hai Fu, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Associate Professor
Hai Fu received his B.S. in Astronomy from Nanjing University and his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His research is in the field of galaxy formation and evolution, with current observational projects on the impact of galaxy mergers, the evolution of galactic rotation, and gas accretion flows connecting the cosmic web and dusty starburst galaxies.
Fuller

Chase Fuller

Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant
Chase Fuller has research interests in high energy astrophysics and galactic structure, with current activities focused on X-ray emitting astrophysical plasmas. He is also interested in making science accessible to general audiences, using it to inform public policy, and its role as a mediator for discussions of national importance.
Garg

Diksha Garg, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Diksha Garg is interested in the field of particle physics. She is currently working with Dr. Mary Hall Reno on a project to determine tau particle's polarization which are produced from the high energy cosmic neutrinos skimming through the earth. She has also worked with Dr. Usha Mallik in hardware and software development for the upcoming high-luminosity upgrade of the inner tracker of the ATLAS experiment at CERN.
Kenneth Gayley

Kenneth G. Gayley, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Associate Professor
Astronomy Graduate Advisor
Ken studies the winds of massive stars, with emphasis on how they become structured and generate shocks, X-rays, and polarization. He is the project scientist on an ultraviolet spectropolarimetry mission concept named Polstar, and concentrates on theoretical models with the goal of understanding the physics of radiatively driven winds and their role in stellar and galactic evolution. His courses emphasize the use of astronomy as a tool to encounter almost every topic in physics as they play out on a vast range of scales and strengths.
Dan Gengler

Dan Gengler

Title/Position
Facilities Coordinator
Ghosh

Anindya Ghosh

Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant
Anindya's research interest is in experimental particle physics and I am working with Prof. Usha Mallik on Dark Matter search with the ATLAS detector at the LHC.
Silva, Eudes

Eudes Gomes da Silva

Title/Position
Graduate Research Assistant