Whether you plan a career as an astrophysicist, teacher, user of astronomical data and information, an understanding of how astronomical research is undertaken, assessed, and/or reported is a key aspect of your undergraduate training. The required ASTR 4998 Senior Thesis course is designed to give that real life experience, and is often considered the capstone of your degree in astronomy or astronomy-physics.
At least one semester of supervised research is necessary to complete the Senior Thesis requirement for either the BA Astronomy or the BS Astronomy-Physics degree. Two semesters of Senior Thesis are required for those intending to complete the Distinguished Majors Program.
The work undertaken as part of the Senior Thesis is expected to entail significant and original research. Some Senior Thesis work may eventually be published in peer-reviewed journals.
How to Enroll in ASTR 4998
STEP 1: Choose a thesis supervisor. This is often, but not exclusively, departmental faculty. You may find them in a number of ways:
- Visit the Department Research page for a list of research areas and their respective personnel. Note that some researchers listed are not in the Astronomy Department. You may find faculty in other departments (Environmental Sciences, Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, etc.) or NRAO as potential thesis advisors.
- Visit the People page for a full list of Department and affiliated personnel. Anyone listed as research staff, research associates, or visiting faculty is a potential thesis supervisor. Most of our visiting faculty are astronomers at the NRAO.
- ASTR 1610 Intro to Astronomical Research course is a one-credit course that is highly recommended for introducing students to the range of research undertaken in the department. The is another starting point for finding potential research supervisors.
STEP 2: Contact your desired supervisor to confirm that they are able to supervise a thesis. They must be contacted BEFORE enrolling in ASTR 4998. Be sure to make clear whether you intend to take one semester or two semesters of ASTR 4998.
- Don't be intimidated to take the initiative to contact potential research advisors by email or in person. Researchers are generally open to being contacted, and faculty fully expect to receive such inquiries. That said, not every faculty member may be able to take on new advisees in a particular semester. If your first-choice supervisor is not available, you should not be discouraged; there are many people to choose from. The sooner you reach out, the better. If you are still unsure of who might be an option or otherwise have difficulties finding a supervisor, please get in touch with the majors advisor.
STEP 3: Enroll in the course in SIS. Once you have gotten confirmation from your new advisor that they can supervise your research, you should enroll in the course in SIS.
- If you do not see the supervisor listed as an option, email Prof. Murphy (emm8x@virginia.edu) and he will add the supervisor. Enrollment must then be approved by your supervisor. Since SIS may not notify the supervisor of your request to enroll, you will need to email them to let them know they need to approve the enrollment. If the supervisor is unsure of how to do this, direct them to the majors advisor for instructions.
Requirements
The requirements for the Senior Thesis are intentionally vague, as the department has a wide range of BA Astronomy and BS Astronomy-Physics majors with widely differing professional interests. For example, we have BA Astronomy majors who intend to teach science at the high school level. So, for them, the thesis might involve constructing a plan for a class, or writing a thesis compiling research on best practices for STEM education. For most of the BS Astronomy-Physics majors, it is a scientific research project that might result in a refereed scientific paper or a section of one, and may include an oral presentation or “defense” of the work, at the discretion of the supervisor.
The minimum requirements for the class are that:
- The student meet with the instructor an average of at least once a week.
- The student must complete a significant body of work, whose exact nature depends on the topic and the future plans of the student. The nature and extent of the required work should be agreed upon at the start of the semester by the student and instructor.
- The student should treat ASTR 4998 as seriously as any other three-credit course, and spend as much time per week (about 10 hours) on the Senior Thesis research as is expected for a three-credit course, including contact hours, background reading, telescope observing or other lab work, and any other activities required for producing the thesis
- If the student is in the final semester of their Senior Thesis, they must write a thesis whose format is appropriate to the work they have done. This might be a draft of a scientific paper, a paper based on a literature study of some area, or some other set of materials. If the primary output of the thesis work is in a non-textual digital form, the text of the thesis may be relatively short, but it should contain links to the digital results. The thesis will be submitted as a PDF file, and, accordingly:
- The thesis should have a cover page giving the title, student’s name, instructor, date, "Department of Astronomy", "University of Virginia", and a statement of the form "This thesis is submitted in partial completion of the requirements of the (name of major).”, and date. The (name of major) is either “BA Astronomy Major” or “BS Astronomy-Physics Major”.
- The thesis should have an Abstract on the second page giving a brief summary of the contents of the thesis and work done.
- The body of the thesis may have whatever format is most appropriate for the work that was done. A reasonable length for a thesis that doesn’t have significant external digital content is around 20 pages. If the thesis is the draft of a scientific paper, it is both allowable and desirable if it is simply in the format for submission to the likely journal in which it would be published
- The student must email the PDF file containing the full thesis to their instructor and to the Department Administrator (Gabby Fuller).
- The PDF of the thesis must also be uploaded to the Libra system of the UVA library. There, it will live on and be publicly available forever. This means that the student can include the link to their thesis in applications for graduate school, fellowships, jobs, etc. Near the end of the semester, the student will receive an email from the Library explaining how to do the upload.
- If the student is in the first semester of a two-semester senior thesis, they should write a report on the work accomplished thus far. This report should have a title and abstract. It should be submitted to the senior thesis supervisor.
- At the end of the semester, the thesis supervisor is required to fill out an assessment form, which will be distributed to them.
- On the first page of the form, the instructor gives the title of the thesis and the information about the student. There is a section for a description of the project, and the instructor’s evaluation of it. At most, one short paragraph each. The easiest thing to do is to use the abstract from the student’s thesis as the project description. At the bottom of the first page, you give the class grade.
- There is a second page that is a table in which the thesis supervisor evaluates the student on a numerical scale (1-5) on various research skills. This info is compiled with the student names removed and sent to the State Council on Higher Education of Virginia, which requires that we evaluate the success of research classes. Some criteria in the evaluation may not apply, depending on the nature of the thesis; the supervisor can leave these categories blank or mark them “N/A”.
- The thesis instructor must submit the grade in SIS (the Student Information System) adhering strictly to the deadlines above.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How does the Senior Thesis (ASTR 4998) course work?
EXPECTATIONS: The details of the course are dependent on the supervisor, so approaches and expectations will be different for each student. These expectations should be discussed as early as possible, ideally before the course even begins. Typically, students meet with their supervisor at least once per week, although this may depend on the structure of the supervisor’s research group. Some students may also work closely with graduate students or postdoctoral researchers.
THESIS: Each student will be expected to complete a written senior thesis by end of the semester (or the end of the second semester, if two semesters of ASTR 4998 are taken). The completed thesis must be submitted to the department administrator and majors advisor. It will also be uploaded to the library website before graduation. Detailed instructions on uploading your thesis can be found here. A reminder is usually sent out near the end of the spring semester. Students completing the thesis in the fall should discuss the protocol with the majors advisor.
GRADES: The assignment of a grade is the responsibility of the supervisor, who is the instructor for the course. The senior thesis may be taken for two semesters, but only one final document needs to be produced and submitted (although a grade will be assigned for each semester).
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Who gets copies of the Senior Thesis?
One copy of your completed thesis needs to be sent to your supervisor for grading, another copy needs to be deposited with the department for our records (sent to the Department Administrator, Gabby Fuller), and a third copy is stored permanently in the University of Virginia Library. You will be sent instructions from the Library on how to submit this publicly accessible copy, or see the link given above.
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What is the deadline for the student submitting the Senior Thesis?
This should be agreed upon between the student and instructor. However, the last possible deadline is the last day of Final Exams for that semester, although this gives the instructor a minimal amount of time for evaluation of the Thesis. Therefore, it is much safer if the deadline is set earlier than this, at least for students who are planning to graduate this May.
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What is the deadline for the instructor submitting the grade for ASTR 4998?
It is the second business day after the last final exam. Note that this is a HARD DEADLINE. If the student is a 4th year student, and the grade is NOT turned in by this date, THEY WILL NOT GRADUATE.
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Can I have a non-UVA person be my Senior Thesis supervisor?
Formally, no. Only UVA faculty can be an instructor to record and assign a grade. However, sometimes a student wishes to continue to work on a major project with a researcher from another institution after a summer internship. In such a case, the student needs to identify a UVA person qualified and willing to act as a co-supervisor of the work, and who will take responsibility to ensure that all Senior Thesis requirements are satisfied and assign a grade.
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Can I have my summer internship or REU work count as my Senior Thesis?
No. Students cannot receive credit for paid research, e.g., from a summer internship or Research Experience for Undergraduates program. However, it is permissible to continue such research as part of a subsequent Senior Thesis (ASTR 4998) course. It is assumed that the work done during ASTR 4998 will be building on the previous, paid research.
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Can my Senior Thesis be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal?
Yes! It is not unusual for some Senior Thesis work to eventually be published in peer-reviewed journals. That said, refereed publications in a students’ resume are often looked upon very favorably by graduate admissions committees. However, the peer-review process necessarily imposes a high bar on the quality and originality of the work, and such substantial projects are often the product of students who have worked on the same research project for an extended period of time. Moreover, special dedication on behalf of both the student and their supervisor is generally required to see a research project through to journal publication.
Even if students do not achieve this goal with their research, it is often a good experience and a great way to get known in the astronomical community (and by graduate school admissions committees) to present your work as a poster or oral presentation at an astronomical conference. You should ask your supervisor about potential opportunities to do this.
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What financial resources exist to support my research?
Students undertaking significant work like that undertaken for the Senior Thesis can often find financial support through various internal and external opportunities that is helpful to pay for travel (e.g., to observatories or labs to gather data, and for attending conferences to present the work) or to cover materials required for research. For example, the Virginia Space Grant Consortium provides substantial undergraduate fellowships awards “to rising juniors and seniors who are enrolled full-time in a program of study in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) and have a specific faculty-mentored research project that has NASA or aerospace relevance.” In addition, the UVA Office of Undergraduate Research offers several grants for student research, outlined on the Office of Citizen Scholar Development: Undergraduate Research page.
Competing for these awards requires not only advanced planning, but sufficient in-depth knowledge about a project to write a competitive proposal. Students already working on a research project or in a specific research area by or in their third year will have a decided advantage.
Senior Thesis Titles since 1970
The Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia has a long history of undergraduate involvement in research. The undergraduate degree in Astronomy has been in existence since the 1880’s. Currently, all of our undergraduate majors and some of our minors take a tutorial course (ASTR 4993) during which they receive individual introductions to current theoretical and observational research topics of interest to the faculty. In addition, all of our Astronomy and joint Astronomy-Physics majors write a Senior Thesis (ASTR 4998) which provides an immersion into the research experience. Below is a list of our recent majors, along with their thesis topic and advisor. Also listed are any publications resulting from their thesis work, as well as other publications from their undergraduate careers.
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2015-Present
Edwards, Patrick
(2018)
SED Fitting of WISE-Selected Luminous, Obscured Quasars at Redshift ~ 2
[Advisor: Mark Whittle]
Grierson, Melanie
(2018)
Using a Monte Carlo Simulation to Resolve Through Confusion the Radio Source Background of Weak Radio Sources Out to Z = 2.9
[Advisor: Craig Sarazin]
Casey, Colleen
(2018)
On Measuring the Radial Velocity of Stars With Earth-Sized Planets
[Advisor: Phil Arras]
El-Abd, Samer
(2018)
Analysis of C2H4O2 Isomers in NGC 6334 I
[Advisor: Crystal Brogan]
Bryant, Layla
(2018)
NASA Public Opinion and the Federal Budget
[Advisor: Kelsey Johnson]
Teclaw, Claire
(2018)
Examination of Planetary Systems With Kepler Data
[Advisor: Phil Arras]
Promisel, Jacob
(2017)
Investigation of the influence of heating sources on dust temperatures for use in complex molecule formation models
[Advisor: R. Garrod]
Skipper, Joy.
(2017)
Chemical Abundance Verifiction of Candidate Omega Centauri Tidal Debris Stars
[Advisor: S. Majewski]
Bailey, Avery P.
(2015)
Merger Activity and Radio Emission within A2016
[Advisor: C. Sarazin]
Beane, Lucas
(2015)
Modeling the Pal 5 Globular Cluster Stream
[Advisor: N. Kallivayalil]
Bixel, David
(2015)
AGN in Dwarf Galaxies
[Advisor: N. Kallivayalil]
Booth, Shawn T.
(2015)
Analyzing Metal-Bearing Oxide Distribution Around the Red Supergiant VY Canis Majoris
[Advisor: A. Remijan (NRAO)]
Booth, Shawn T.
(2015)
Investigating the Spatial Structure of HCN Emission in Comet C/2012 F6
[Advisor: Z.-Y. Li]
Brown, Jacob
(2015)
GPS: A Growing Influence
[Advisor: P.K. Seidelmann]
Coffield, James
(2015)
Multi-Scale Analysis of Seyfert Galaxies
[Advisor: J. Braatz (NRAO)]
Dollhopf, Niklaus
(2015)
Chemical Complexity in the Shocked Outflow L1157
[Advisor: A. Remijan (NRAO)]
Esman, Teresa
(2015)
Resonances from Atmospheric Electricity at Mars: Results from MGS and MAVEN Magnetometer Observations
[Advisor: A. Verbiscer]
Gilligan, Christina
(2015)
Searches for Giant Pulsar Emission from Energetic Fermi Millisecond Pulsars
[Advisor: S. Ransom (NRAO)]
Hall, Matthew
(2015)
Searching for Stellar Substructure Using Low Metallicity APOGEE
[Advisor: S. Majewski]
Hillenbrand, Thomas
(2015)
Simulating and Fitting Maser Dynamics in Galaxies
[Advisor: J. Braatz (NRAO)]
Mullaney, Megan S.
(2015)
[K. Johnson]
Munoz, Jorge
(2015)
The Habitability of Planets Around M-Type Stars
[Advisor: P. Arras]
Pereira, Carlos
(2015)
Reading and Discussion
[Advisor: W. Saslaw]
Reiter, J. B.
(2015)
The Effects of Internal Heating on the Radii of Simulated Giant Gas Planets
[Advisor: P. Arras]
Shepherd, Kyle
(2015)
An Analysis of Massive Young Stellar Objects in the Lower-Metallicity Spring 2015 Magellanic Clouds
[Advisor: R. Indebetouw]
Stahl, Kevin
(2015)
Modeling Millisecond Pulsar Pulse Profiles for Wide-Band High-Precision Spring 2015 Timing Observations
[Advisor: S. Ransom (NRAO)]
Stewart, Caitlin
(2015)
A Study of Water Megamasers in NGC 1320
[Advisor: J. Braatz (NRAO)]
Stolcenberg, Kyle
(2015)
The Distribution of Dark Matter Spring 2015
[Advisor: W. Saslaw]
Trapp, Adam C.
(2015)
[Advisor: D. M. Whittle]
Tembe, Mita
(2015)
Assessing the Feasibility of using Earth-based Radio Telescopes For Measuring Radio Bursts from High Energy Neutrino Interactions with the Lunar Regolith
[Advisor: R. Bradley (NRAO)]
Viray, Michael A.
(2015)
Chandra X-ray Observations of Abell 2626 - the Origin of the Diamond-Shaped Radio Emission in Abell 2626
[Advisor: C. Sarazin]
Xiao, Liting
(2015)
[Advisor: K. Johnson]
Zucker, Catherine
(2015)
[Advisor: K. Johnson]
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2014-2010
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2009-2005
Beaton, Rachael
(2007)
Three Studies of the Andromeda Spiral Galaxy
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Publications:
- Athanassoula, E. & Beaton, R. L. 2006, ''Unravelling the mystery of the M31 bar,'' MNRAS, 370, 1499
- Beaton, R. L., Athanassoula, E., Majewski, S. R., Guhathakurta, P., Skrutskie, M. F., Patterson, R. J., & Bureau, M. 2005, ''Unveiling the Boxy Bulge and Bar of the Andromeda Spiral Galaxy,'' BAAS, 37, 1387
- Beaton, R. L., Majewski, S. R., Guhathakurta, P., Skrutskie, M. F., Cutri, R. M., Good, J., Patterson, R. J., Athanassoula, E., & Bureau, M. 2007, ''Unveiling the Boxy Bulge and Bar of the Andromeda Spiral Galaxy,'' ApJL, 658, L91
- Majewski, S. R., Beaton, R. L., Patterson, R. J., Kalirai, J. S., Geha, M. C., Muñoz, R. R., Seigar, M. S., Guhathakurta, P., Gilbert, K. M., Rich, R. M., Bullock, J. S., & Reitzel, D. B. 2007, ''Discovery of Andromdea XIV: A Dwarf Spheroidal Dynamical Rogue in the Local Group?'' ApJL, 670, L9
Caldwell, Megan
(2007)
An Examination of the Possible Molecular Origins of Life
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Christensen, Danielle
(2007)
Galileo, Religion, and Science
[Advisor: P. K. Seidelmann]
Franks, Caitlin
(2007)
Analysis of T Tauri Stars: DR Tau and LkCa15
[Advisor: J. Bary]
Hippert, Rachel A.
(2007)
Effective Learning Devices for Teaching Astronomy in School Districts with Limited Resources
[Advisor: E. M. Murphy]
Hopkins, Matthew
(2007)
Limits on Interstellar Migration: The Maximum Governable Area
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Miller, Mary L.
(2007)
Calculating the Electron Temperature of Sagittarius B2(N-LMH) with Radio Recombination Lines from 1-48 GHz
[Advisor: A. Remijan]
Abadeer, Maher Nazih
(2006)
Introduction to Modern Day Physics
[Advisor: P. K. Seidelmann]
Kanov, Kalin Nikolaev
(2006)
Chandra Observations of the Interaction of the Radio Source and Cooling Core in Abell 2063
[Advisor: C. L. Sarazin]
Publications:
- Kanov, K. N., Sarazin, C. L., & Hicks, A. K. 2006, ''Chandra Observations of the Interaction of the Radio Source and Cooling Core in Abell 2063,'' ApJ, 653, 184
Poblete, Mark
(2006)
The Concordance LCDM Model: A Look into the Universe
[Advisor: D. M. Whittle]
Rivera, Christopher
(2006)
The Binarity of the GK Tau System
[Advisor: M. F. Skrutskie]
Cole, Laura
(2005)
1.28 and 2.2-micron Observations of Titan and Rhea at Opposition
[Advisor: M. F. Skrutskie]
Crisp, Andrew
(2005)
Spectroscopic Study of B Stars in the Open Cluster NGC2169
[Advisor: D. A. McDavid]
Publications:
- McDavid, D. & Crisp, A. 2007, ''The Upper Main Sequence of the Open Cluster NGC 2169,'' Active OB-Stars: Laboratories for Stellar and Circumstellar Physics, ASP Conference Series 361, 370
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2004-2000
Hershley, Heather
(2004)
Characterizing the Dark Current of the SU320-1.7T1 InGaAs Array at Cryogenic Temperatures
[Advisor: M. F. Skrutskie]
Spring, Justin
(2003)
Chandra X-Ray Observations of AWM 7
[Advisor: C. L. Sarazin]
Ayub, Hina F.
(2002)
Using the 2MASS Survey to Search for Globular Cluster Tidal Tails
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Publications:
- Law, D. R., Majewski, S. R., Skrutskie, M. F., Carpenter, J. M., & Ayub, H. F. 2003, ''2MASS Studies of Differential Reddening across Three Massive Globular Clusters,'' AJ, 126, 1871
Moore, Stuart
(2002)
History of Astronomical Photography
[Advisor: P. K. Seidelmann]
Mowery, Ashley
(2002)
A Search for Galactic Fountain Gas
[Advisor: E. M. Murphy]
Powell, Howard B.
(2002)
Small Radio Telescope Control System
[Advisor: E. M. Murphy]
Soinski, Tiffany L.
(2002)
A Study of Radio Flares from V711 Tau, UX Ari, and Β Per
[Advisor: M. T. Richards]
Publications:
- Soinski, T. L. & Richards, M. T. 2002, ''The Long-term Characteristics of Radio Flares from V711 Tau, Β Per and UX Ari,'' BAAS, 34, 653
Tyndall, David
(2002)
Millimeter and Submillimeter Observations of Formaldehyde in DR21(OH)
[Advisor: H. A. Wootten]
Adams, Elena Y.
(2001)
Construction of a Fiber Optic Spectrograph for the Fan Mountain 1-m Telescope
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Publications:
- Crane, J. D., Majewski, S. R., Patterson, R. J., Skrutskie, M. F., Adams, E. Y., & Frinchaboy, P. M. 2005, ''The Fan Observatory Bench Optical Spectrograph (FOBOS),'' PASP, 117, 526
Alltop, Jennifer L.
(2001)
A Washington Photometry Study of the Andromeda II Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Forestell, Amy D.
(2001)
A Search for Extratidal Stars Around the Globular Cluster NGC 288
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Publications:
- Forestell, A. D., Majewski, S. R., Westfall, K. B., Patterson, R. J., & Kunkel, W. E. 2001, ''The Extended Structure of the Globular Cluster NGC 288,'' BAAS, 33, 1385
Handy, John
(2001)
Studies of Spherical Accretion
[Advisor: S. Balbus]
Keeney, Brian A.
(2001)
The Proper Motion of the Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal
[Advisors: D. Dinescu, S. R. Majewski]
Ponce, Veronica C.
(2001)
A Washington Photometry Study of the Pyxis Globular Cluster
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Publications:
- Williamon, R. M., Van Hamme, W., Torres, G., Sowell, J. R., & Ponce, V. C. 2005, ''The Eclipsing Binary System AR Monocerotis,'' AJ, 129, 2798
Taylor, Joshua Eric
(2001)
Cosmology Enters the 21st Century
[Advisor: J. F. Hawley]
Westfall, Kyle B.
(2001)
Discovery of Extratidal Stars Around the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Publications:
- Westfall, K. B., Ostheimer, J. C., Frinchaboy, P. M., Patterson, R. J., Majewski, S. R., & Kunkel, W. E. 2000, ''Exploring the Extended Structure of the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy,'' BAAS, 33, 718
- Forestell, A. D., Majewski, S. R., Westfall, K. B., Patterson, R. J., & Kunkel, W. E. 2001, ''The Extended Structure of the Globular Cluster NGC 288,'' BAAS, 33, 1385
- Frinchaboy, P. M., Rhee, J., Ostheimer, J. C., Majewski, S. R., Patterson, R. J., Johnson, W. Y., Dinescu, D. I., Palma, C., & Westfall, K. B. 2002, ''The Metallicity Distribution of ω Centauri,'' in Omega Centauri, A Unique Window in Astrophysics, ASP Conference Proceedings, 265, 143
- Majewski, S. R., Patterson, R. J., Palma, C., Westfall, K. B., Siegel, M. H., Ostheimer, J. C., Frinchaboy, P. M., Link, R., Sohn, S., Kunkel, W. E., & Johnston, K. V. 2002, Modes of Star Formation and the Origin of Field Populations, ASP Conference Series, 285, 199
- Majewski, S. R., Muñoz, R. R., Westfall, K. B., & Patterson, R. J. 2005, ''Dynamics of Disrupting Milky Way Satellite Galaxies and Tidal Streams,'' Stellar Astrophysics with the World’s Largest Telescopes: AIP Conference Proceedings 752, 194
- Westfall, K. B., Majewski, S. R., Ostheimer, J. C., Frinchaboy, P. M., Kunkel, W. E., Patterson, R. J., & Link, R. 2006, ''Exploring Halo Subsctructure with Giant Stars. VIII. The Extended Structure of the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy,'' AJ, 131, 375
Crawford, Steven M.
(2000)
Deep Multicolor Galaxy Studies to B ~ 26
(Harrison Prize Winner)
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Publications:
- Crawford, S. M., Majewski, S. R., & Bershady, M. A. 2000, ''UBVRI Galaxy Counts to B ~ 25,'' BAAS, 32, 884
- Crawford, S. M., Majewski, S. R., & Bershady, M. A. 2001, ''Analysis of Galaxy Count Variations,'' Deep Fields, ESO Astrophysics Symposia, 152
Knez, Claudia
(2000)
Spectral Modeling of Protostellar Jets
[Advisor: Z.-Y. Li]
Publications:
- Knez, C. & Ringwald, F. A. 1999, ''A Cosmic Masquerade: Are Novae Disguised Black Holes?'' BAAS, 31, 1422
Pereira, Divya
(2000)
Quantitative Description of HB Morphology and the Second Parameter Problem
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Publications:
- Landsman, W. B., Catelan, M., O’Connell, R. W., Pereira, D., & Stecher, T. P. 2001, ''Integrated UV fluxes and HB morphology of Globular Clusters,'' BAAS, 33, 1385
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1999-1995
Butler, Tracy O.
(1999)
Periodicities Obtained from Radio Flare Data from Algol and HR 1099
[Advisor: M. T. Richards]
Johnson, Winfrey Y.
(1999)
The Metallicity Distribution of ω Centauri
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Publications:
- Johnson, W. Y., Majewski, S. R., & Ostheimer, J. C. 1998, ''Distribution of Giant Stars in High Galactic Latitude Fields,'' BAAS, 30, 770
- Majewski, S. R., Patterson, R. J., Dinescu, D. I., Johnson, W. Y., Ostheimer, J. C., Kunkel, W. E., & Palma, C. 2000, ''ω Centauri: Nucleus of a Milky Way dwarf Spheroidal?'' The Galactic Halo : From Globular Cluster to Field Stars, Proceedings of the 35th Liege International Astrophysics Colloquium, 619
- Frinchaboy, P. M., Rhee, J., Ostheimer, J. C., Majewski, S. R., Patterson, R. J., Johnson, W. Y., Dinescu, D. I., Palma, C., & Westfall, K. B. 2002, ''The Metallicity Distribution of ω Centauri,'' in Omega Centauri, A Unique Window in Astrophysics, ASP Conference Proceedings, 265, 143
Wescott, Janet
(1999)
The History of the McCormick Observatory
(Joint History and Astronomy Thesis)
[Advisors: S. R. Majewski and Karen Parshall (History)]
Publications:
Wesson, Karen H.
(1999)
Truncated Exponential Disks in Edge-on Spiral Galaxies
[Advisor: R. de Grijs]
Publications:
- de Grijs, R., Kregel, M., & Wesson, K. H. 2001, ''Radially truncated galactic discs,'' MNRAS, 324, 1074
Arnold, Elizabeth G.
(1998)
Examining the Possibility of Life on Mars
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Drinkwine, Benjamin J.
(1998)
Several Globular Cluster Projects
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Edgar, James H. III
(1998)
An approach to placing an upper limit on Ω using the probabilistic distribution function for galaxy
clustering
[Advisor: W. C. Saslaw]
Publications:
- Saslaw, W. C., & Edgar, J. H. 2000, ``High Redshift Clustering and Ω_o'' ApJ, 534, 1
Ostheimer, James A.
(1998)
A Search for Tidal Stellar Debris from the Magellanic Clouds
[Advisor: S. R. Majewski]
Publications:
- Ostheimer, J. C., Majewski, S. R., & Kunkel, W. E. 1997, ''A Search for Giant Stars in the Magellanic Stream,'' BAAS, 190, 5507
- Sarajedini, A., Claver, C. F., & Ostheimer, J. C. 1997, ''The Properties of the Antlia Dwarf Galaxy,'' AJ, 114, 2505
- Johnson, W. Y., Majewski, S. R., & Ostheimer, J. C. 1998, ''Distribution of Giant Stars in High Galactic Latitude Fields,'' BAAS, 30, 770
- Ostheimer, J. C., Majewski, S. R., Kunkel, W. E., & Johnston, K. V. 1998, ''A Search for Tidal Star Streams from the Magellanic Clouds,'' BAAS, 30, 770
- Majewski, S. R., Ostheimer, J. C., Kunkel, W. E., Johnston, K. V., & Patterson, R. J. 1998, ``A Search for Stellar Tidal Tails from the Magellanic Clouds,'' in IAU Symposium 190, New Views of the Magellanic Clouds
Wilkinson, Howard P. III
(1998)
Stellar Evolution
[Advisor: J. F. Hawley]
Moore, Larry E.
(1997)
Phase-Binned Doppler Images of Interacting Algol-type Binaries
[Advisor: M. T. Richards]
Prok, Yelena A.
(1997)
Three Essays in Nuclear astrophysics: The Nucleosynthesis of Trans-Iron Elements/ Hydrogen Burning/ The Solar Neutrino Problem
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Scalzo, Richard A.
(1997)
A Simple Analytic Model for Ram Pressure Stripping of Ellipsoidal Galaxies
[Advisor: C. L. Sarazin]
Publications:
- Scalzo, R. A. & Di Stefano, R. 1996, ''The Probability of Microlensing Detections of Planetary Systems,'' BAAS, 189, 1908
Bowles, Larissa M.
(1996)
An Investigation of Archival IUE Spectra of Algol and RS CVn Binaries
[Advisor: M. T. Richards]
Publications:
- Richards, M. T., Albright, G. E., & Bowles, L. M. 1995, ``Doppler Tomography of Accretion Regions in Algols,'' Astrophys. Space Sci., 224, 547
- Richards, M. T., Albright, G. E., & Bowles, L. M. 1995, ``Doppler Tomography of the Gas Stream in Short-Period Algol Binaries,'' ApJ, 438, L103
Paravastu, Nagini
(1996)
The Subgiant Branch in Globular Cluster Luminosity Functions
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Russell, Scot E.
(1996)
Study of Radio and X-Ray Flares in Magnetically Active systems
[Advisor: M. T. Richards]
Publications:
- Richards, M. T., & Russell, S. E. 1997, ``Dependence of Radio Flaring Activity on Orbital Phase in Archival Observations of Algol-type and RS CVn Binaries,'' in Tenth Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun, ASP Conf. Ser. 154, 1551
Gardener, Rupert
(1995)
What is Life? Where is Life Located? How Can We Find It?
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Gardner, Christopher
(1995)
A Study of Numerical Analysis of Hydrodynamic Flows
[Advisor: J. F. Hawley]
Grant, Robert Brian
(1995)
Analysis of H Emission in M82
[Advisor: R. W. O’Connell]
Martin, John C.
(1995)
Determination of the Blended Binary Star Β Parameter for the Leander McCormick 26-inch Refracting Telescope
[Advisor: P. A. Ianna]
Publications:
- Urban, S. E., Martin, J. C., Jackson, E. S., & Corbin, T. E. 1996, ''New Reductions of the Astrographic Cataloge. Plate adjustments of the Algiers, Oxford I and II, and Vatican Zones,'' A&AS, 118, 163
Pickens, Christopher E.
(1995)
Asteroidal Motion at the 4:3 Commensurability with Jupiter
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Plett, Karen M.
(1995)
The Origin of Gas Velocities in the Broad Line Region of Seyferts
[advisor: D. M. Whittle]
Saparmin, Norzakiah
(1995)
Lemaitre Model with Galaxies Clustering in the Quasistatic Period
[Advisor: W. C. Saslaw]
Tingley, Brandon W.
(1995)
The Mass of the Crab Nebula
[Advisor: R. A. Chevalier]
Expand content
1994-1990
Acton, Douglas F.
(1994)
Effects of Pulsar Kick Velocities
[Advisor: R. A. Chevalier]
Hendrick, Sean P.
(1994)
A Mass Determination for the Cluster A4059 from X-ray Emissions
[Advisor: C. L. Sarazin]
Mattson, Caroline J.
(1994)
Doppler Tomography of the Algol-type Binary U Sagittae
[Advisor: M. T. Richards]
Publications:
- Richards, M., Jones, R., Swain, M., Mattson, C., & Albright, G. 1994, ``Doppler Tomography of Accretion Regions in Algols,'' in Proceedings of Circumstellar Matter, An International Conference in Celebration of the Centenary of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, ed. G. Watt.
- Beers, T. C., Wilhelm, R., Doinidis, S. P., & Mattson, C. J. 1996, ''A Catalog of Candidate Field Horizontal Branch and A-Type Stars. II,'' ApJS, 103, 433
Meadows, Kelly O.
(1994)
Lunar Resource Allocation
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Mullis, Christopher R.
(1994)
The ENLR of Markarian 78
[Advisor: D. M. Whittle]
Publications:
- Ianna, P. A., Begam, M. C., & Mullis, C. R. 1994, ''Preliminary Parallaxes for Southern Nearby Stars,'' BAAS, 185, 2203
- Mullis, C. R., Begam, M. C., & Ianna, P. A. 1995, ''Mistaken Identities for LHS 2067 and LHS 2068,'' PASP, 107, 742
Colley, Wesley N.
(1993)
Elliptical Contour Fitting of Stellar Images from PDS Microdensitometry with application to CD-46 1057
[Advisor: P. A. Ianna]
Publications:
- O’Connell, R. W.; Gallagher, J. S., III, Hunter, D. A., & Colley, W. N. 1993, ''Super Star Clusters in M82,'' BAAS, 25, 1413
Horner, Donald J.
(1993)
The Old Open Cluster Cr 110: CCD Photometry
[Advisor: P. A. Ianna]
Rogers, Christopher B.
(1993)
Calculation of Possible Points of Origin for Earth-Orbiting Debris
[Advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Publications:
- Goldstein, S. J., Jr. & Rogers, C. B. 1992, ''An Attempt to Calculate Orbital Elements for Space Debris,'' BAAS, 24, 1140
Twardy, Charles
(1993)
Culture and Cosmology: The Philosophy of Mayan Science
[Interdisciplinary Thesis; Astronomy Advisor: L. W. Frederick]
Edwards, Kevin W.
(1992)
Isaac Newton’s Calculation of Distance to a Nearby Star
[Advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Finn, Rose A.
(1992)
A Search for Intragroup Gas
[Advisor: C. L. Sarazin]
Jones, Robert D.
(1992)
Doppler Imaging of Β Persei
[Advisor: M. T. Richards]
Publications:
- Jones, R. D., & Richards, M. T. 1992, ``Doppler Analysis of Circumstellar Emission in beta Persei,'' BAAS, 24, 768
- Richards, M., Jones, R., Swain, M., Mattson, C., & Albright, G. 1994, ``Doppler Tomography of Accretion Regions in Algols,'' in Proceedings of Circumstellar Matter, An International Conference in Celebration of the Centenary of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, ed. G. Watt.
- Richards, M. T., Jones, R. D., and Swain, M. A. 1996, ``Doppler Tomography and S-wave Analysis of Circumstellar Gas in beta Persei,'' ApJ, 459, 249
Shipman, David L.
(1992)
[Advisor: C. R. Tolbert]
Campbell, Eric T.
(1991)
Predicting an Elliptical Trajectory Using Gauss’s Method of Orbit Determination
(Humanities Thesis in the School of Engineering)
[Advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Finney, Charles E. A.
(1991)
Astrographic Search for Saturnian Trojan Asteroids
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Rawlings, Michael J.
(1991)
The Link Between Broad and Narrow Line Kinematics in AGN
[Advisor: D. M. Whittle]
Anderson, Melanie L.
(1990)
A Study of the Far-Infrared - Radio Correlation for an Optically Selected Sample of Spiral Galaxies
[Advisor: J. Condon, NRAO]
Publications:
- Condon, J. J., Anderson, M. L., & Helou, G. 1991, ''Correlations between the far-infrared, radio, and blue luminosities of spiral galaxies,'' ApJ, 376, 95
Brecht, Peter J.
(1990)
History of Cosmology
[Advisor: J. F. Hawley]
McSherry, Peter J .
(1990)
Exploring Laplace’s Law for Io, Europa, and Ganymede
[Advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Olsson, Eric C.
(1990)
Astrometric Observations of Radio Galaxies with One Sided Jets
[Advisor: D. M. Whittle]
Stegman, Richard W.
(1990)
A Look at the Time Variability of Solar Neutrinos
[Advisor: R. T. Rood]
Expand content
1989-1985
Decker, William J.
(1989)
Functional Representation and Simulation of Globular Cluster Main-Sequence Stars
[advisor: R. T. Rood]
Toland, Patrick D.
(1989)
Deceleration of the Earth
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Ashe, Gregory A.
(1988)
Steady-State Cooling Flow Models with Star Formation for Normal Elliptical Galaxies
[advisor: C. L. Sarazin]
Publications:
- Sarazin, C. L., & Ashe, G. A. 1989, ``Steady--State Cooling Flow Models with Gas Loss for Normal Elliptical Galaxies,'' ApJ, 345, 22
Golder, James E.
(1988)
Modelling Objective Prism Observations of Hα Emitting Galaxies
[advisor: D. M. Whittle]
McCeney, Margo M.
(1988)
Analysis of the Data Transmission Requirements and Restrictions of the NASA Space Station
[advisor: R. T. Rood]
Rilee, Michael L.
(1988)
A Subroutine for Computing the Emissivity of Several Coronal Lines
[advisor: C. L. Sarazin]
Walsh, William G.
(1988)
The Luminosity Dependence of Emission Line Ratios in Seyfert Galaxies
[advisor: D. M. Whittle]
Dinniman, Michael S.
(1987)
Gravitational Lens Modeling with an Analytic King Galaxy and Galactic Cluster
[advisor: C. L. Sarazin]
Berry, James
(1985)
An Evaluation of the IS32 OpticRAM as a Computer Peripheral in an Astronomical Autoguider
[advisor: R. W. O’Connell]
Clegg, Andrew
(1985)
The Wind from a Starburst Galaxy Nucleus
[advisor: R. A. Chevalier]
Publications:
- Chevalier, R. A. & Clegg, A. W. 1985, ``Winds from a starburst galaxy nucleus,'' Nature, 317, 44
- Clegg, A. W. & Chevalier, R. A. 1985, ``The wind from a starburst galaxy nucleus,'' BAAS, 17, 587
Wilder, Michael
(1985)
Deceleration of the Earth’s Rotation from Ephemeris Time Correction
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Expand content
1984-1980
Bourland, James
(1984)
Derivation of Proper Motion and Parallax for Boss 2199
[advisor: P. A. Ianna ]
Calleson, Diane
(1984)
Distance to the Praesepe and Pleiades Star Clusters by a Moving Cluster Method
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Patterson, Richard
(1984)
Line Locking in SS433
[advisor: C. L. Sarazin ]
Starosta, Boris
(1984)
The Space Distribution of Galaxies in the Lynx-Ursa Major and Perseus-Pisces Superclusters
[advisor: C. L. Sarazin ]
Publications:
- Haynes, M. P., Magri, C., Giovanelli, R., & Starosta, B. M. 1988, ``A 21 cm Survey of the Pisces-Perseus Supercluster. III - The Region North of +38 Degrees,'' AJ, 95, 607
Harvie, Edwin
(1983)
Solar Modulation of Cosmic Ray Ionization in the Terrestrial Electrical Circuit
[advisor: R. T. Rood]
Magri, Christopher A.
(1983)
Visual Binaries in the Hyades
[advisor: R. T. Rood]
Publications:
- Haynes, M. P., Magri, C., Giovanelli, R., & Starosta, B. M. 1988, ``A 21 cm Survey of the Pisces-Perseus Supercluster. III - The Region North of +38 Degrees,'' AJ, 95, 607
Reed, Jeffery A.
(1983)
Double Faraday Rotation Toward 3C 27
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Publications:
- Goldstein, S.J., and Reed, J. A. 1984, ``Double Faraday Rotation Toward 3C 27,'' ApJ, 283, 540
Bartell, David M.
(1982)
Project Rescue
[advisor: Glenn Miller]
Donnelly, John M.
(1982)
Astronomical Catastrophes and the Evoloution of Intelligence
[advisor: R. T. Rood]
Heiss, Marina M.
(1982)
White Dwarf Model
[advisor: Glenn Miller]
Kennedy, James M.
(1982)
An Overview of the Soviet Space Program
[advisor: R. T. Rood]
Patteson, Stephen H.
(1982)
Quasar Interaction with an X-ray Emitting Cluster of Galaxies
[advisor: Mark Johnston]
Woods, Phillip R.
(1982)
cD Galaxies: The Problem of MKW and AWM Central Dominants
[advisor: ? ]
Schlecht, Erich
(1981)
Deceleration of the Earth’s Rotation Obtained from Halley’s Solar Tables
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Doss, Otis W.
(1980)
The Relationship between Helium and Metal Enhancement of the Interstellar Medium
[advisor: R. T. Rood]
Expand content
1979-1972
Anderson, James A.
(1979)
A Jovian Satellite Photometer
(Humanities Thesis in the School of Engineering)
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Goeller, Lawrence N.
(1979)
A Constraint on Faint Galaxies in the Coma Cluster from 21-cm Observations
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Haley, Paul V.
(1979)
Laplace’s Derivation of Galilean Resonance
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Barnett, Michael D.
(1978)
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Hilldrup, Kerry C.
(1977)
Maximum Observable Solid Angles of the Three Element NRAO Interferometer as Determined for Application of the Observations of Radio Sources in the Field of Globular Clusters
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Good, Michael, R.
(1977)
An Analysis of van den Bergh’s New Classification System for Galaxies
[advisor: R. W. O’Connell]
McCutcheon, Robert A.
(1976)
On the Calculation of Asteroid Orbits: A Progress Report
[advisors: S. J. Goldstein and R. W. O’Connell]
Ogburn, T. J., III
(1975)
On the velocity of light three centuries ago
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Publications:
- Goldstein, S. J., Jr., Ogburn, T. J., III, & Trasco, J. D. 1973, ''On the velocity of light three centuries ago,'' AJ, 78, 122
Martin, George E.
(1974)
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]
Publications:
- Martin, G. E. & Ianna, P. A. 1975, ''Parallax and orbital motion of the astrometric binary BD +6 398,'' AJ, 80, 321
Luck, R. Earle
(1972)
[advisor: S. J. Goldstein]