G. C. Sloan: Life as a Researcher

Support Scientist, Space Telescope Science Institute, 2016-present

I joined the Space Telescope Science Institute in the summer of 2016. I'm part of the team supporting the Mid-Infrared Instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope, which launched on Christmas Day, 2021. I have served in various roles before and after launch, including lead for the Low-Resolution Spectrometer (LRS) on MIRI, deputy lead for the JWST Calibration Coordination Team, and previously, the MIRI calibration lead and the lead of what is now the Science Operations Calibration Planning Team. In all of the above cases, "lead" really means coordinator, because a lot of teamwork is involved to make sure this mission succeeds.

Senior Research Associate, Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, 2010-2017

In my last several years at Cornell, my research shifted to studying larger populations of evolved stars in clusters and nearby galaxies. My collaborators and I applied what we learned from the spectra to studies using photometry. One interesting technique involves multiple observations of the same field to identify and characterize variability in evolved stars.

Research Associate, Infrared Spectrograph Science Center, Cornell University, 2001-2010

At Cornell, I was a member of the Infrared Spectograph Team, one of three instrument teams for the Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF), which was launched in August, 2003. I assisted with the calibration of the IRS and used it in a series of projects to study evolved stars, mass loss, and dust production in nearby galaxies.

Senior Astronomer, Institute for Scientific Research, Boston College, 2000-2002

For a year starting in June, 2000, I worked at Hanscom AFB near Boston for the second time, this time to help Steve Price and Kathleen Kraemer with data from the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). I continued with the project after moving to Cornell. We published an atlas of all of the 2.4-45 um spectra obtained by the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) on ISO and developed a system to classify these spectra.

National Science Foundation International Research Fellow, Australian Defence Force Academy, 1997-1998

The U.S. National Science Foundation funded my work in Australia with Craig Smith at the Australian Defence Force Academy. We used mid-infrared cameras to study the dust formed in the immediate vicinity of dying stars as part of broader effort to understand how dying stars eject their envelopes before they form planetary nebulae or supernovae.

National Research Council Associate, NASA Ames Research Center (near San Francisco), 1994-1997

At NASA Ames I studied the spectral emission from organic molecules in the interstellar medium, using a variety of techniques. I collaborated with Jesse Bregman to investigate the origin of a series of strong infrared emission features once known as the unidentifed infrared (UIR) features. These spectral features arise from a class of organic molecules commonly described as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We used a combination of narrow-band imaging and long-slit spectroscopy to help confirm that PAHs are indeed the culprit and learn more about how they produce the observed features.

Geophysics Lab. Scholar, U.S. Air Force Phillips Lab. (near Boston), 1992-1994

While at Phillips Lab, I worked in the Celestial Backgrounds branch, run by Steve Price, on two projects. The first continued my thesis work with the Air Force's long-slit spectrometer. I was responsible for the complete replacement of the electronics used to read the array and process the data, and I also improved the observing techniques developed for long-slit infrared spectroscopy. The second project involved a thorough review of the infrared spectral emission from dust shells around evolved stars and the discovery of the silicate dust sequence.

Ph.D. Physics, University of Wyoming, 1992 (Astrophysics Program)
Dissertation: Spatially Resolved 10 Micron Spectra of Circumstellar Material around Evolved Stars

Under the supervision of Gary Grasdalen, I developed a data acquisition system for the Air Force mid-infrared long-slit spectrometer for use at the Wyoming Infared Observatory (WIRO). Gary and I developed an innovative method of using the spectrometer (known as GLADYS for Geophysics Lab. Array Detector Spectrometer) in order to exploit both the spatial and spectral information available in the data. Using reconstruction techniques to deconvolve the effects of atmospheric seeing from our data, we detected two dust shells around the supergiant alpha Orionis. We also observed the PAH emission in the Red Rectangle (HD 44179), detecting changes in the shape of the spectrum with distance from the central source.

B.A. Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 1985

I studied at Northwestern under the supervision of William Buscombe. Among other things, I learned about spectroscopy, helped him with his catalog of optical spectral classifications, and observed at the 1-m reflector at Lindheimer Astronomical Research Center (while it was still there!).

A separate page describes my teaching experience.

Home Research