Astronomy and Astrophysics...
Astronomy research began at DU in 1880 with Professor Howe's solutions to the Kepler Problem in orbital mechanics, and featured completion of historic Chamberlin Observatory with its 0.5 meter aperture Clark-Saemuller f/15 refractor (http://www.du.edu/~rstencel). This facility is still in use for classes and public instruction, and has been joined by newer telescopes including atop 14,148 ft Mt.Evans, the Student Astronomy Lab and internet/space based telescopes. Professor Stencel uses these telescopes for instructional use with students and research into stellar evolution and long period binary stars. http://portfolio.du.edu/rstencel
A new era in astrophysics is underway with the recent hiring of Professors Jennifer Hoffman and Toshiya Ueta. Dr. Hoffman pursues investigations of supernova phenomena, using the combined techniques of observational spectropolarimetry and three-dimensional numerical radiative transfer modelling to probe the geometrical configurations of gas and dust surrounding these stars. She has applied these techniques to newly formed protostars, interacting binary systems, evolved mass-losing variable stars, and supernova explosions, with an aim to trace the structure of circumstellar material and the ways it mediates between a star and its environment over the course of the star's life cycle. One recent project focuses on understanding the commonalities and differences among the members of the heterogeneous category of supernovae called Type IIn, which show signatures of strong interaction between the supernova ejecta and the circumstellar material expelled in pre-supernova mass loss episodes. http://portfolio.du.edu/jhoffm35
Dr. Ueta's research interests include stellar evolution (especially the late stages from the Red Giant to the Planetary Nebula phases), astropaleontology (study of past evolution of astronomical sources through investigation of the circumsource material distribution), radiative transfer in dusty media, infrared observations of dusty media, and astromineralogy (composition and formation of circumstellar and interstellar dust). He is an active user of various space- and ground-based observatories around the world such as Hubble Space Telescope and Mauna Kea and ESO Observatories. http://portfolio.du.edu/tueta
January 6, 2008