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Infrared	FanCam	CorMass	TripleSpec	2MASS	Visible

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Michael Skrutskie, Professor Email: skrutskie-att-virginia.edu Phone: (434) 924-4328 Fax: (434) 924-3104 Office: 262 Astronomy Building Address:    Department of Astronomy    P.O. Box 400325    Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325

Curriculum Vitae 1987:   Ph.D., Cornell University 1987-2001:   Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Presently:   Professor, University of Virginia Research Interests Infrared instrumentation Sky surveys (2MASS) Galactic structure and stellar populations Young Stellar Objects and Solar System Formation Low-mass stars and brown dwarfs I direct a laboratory for the construction of cryogenic near-infrared detection systems. In previous years I have constructed photometers, spectrometers, and cameras for near-infrared astronomy. Instruments developed in recent years include the 256 × 256 element NICMOS3 HgCdTe camera (NICMASS), the 2MASS cameras, and the CorMASS near-infrared spectrograph. CorMASS is currently available to users of the 3.5-meter telescope at Apache Point Observatory. One of the 2MASS cameras remains active at the PAIRITEL automated infrared telescope facility at Mt. Hopkins, Arizona providing observers in the department quick access to automated observations of the near-infrared sky. Beyond facilitating my research interests, this laboratory is intended to provide graduate students and undergraduates with hands-on experience with astronomical instrumentation. Current lab efforts include the operation of the newly-commissioned Fan Mountain Infrared Camera operating at UVa's 31-inch telescope at Fan Mountain Observatory. This camera was designed, constructed and commissioned by students in the department. The laboratory is currently focused on the delivery of an R=3000 cross-dispersed near infrared spectrograph, TripleSpec, to Apache Point Observatory. The laboratory is also beginning an effort to deliver a mid-infrared (3-5um) imaging channel, LMIRcam, to support the University of Arizona's imaging interferometer at the Large Binocular Telescope. The laboratory also maintains facilities to test and characterize infrared arrays. For the last few years we have pursued an NSF-funded program with Goodrich Corporation - Sensors Unlimited to develop and evaluate extended wavelength (2.3um cutoff) InGaAs arrays capable of matching the performance of HgCdTe arrays in ground-based applications. This work has lead to the production of an extended InGaAs array bonded to a cryogenic "astronomical" multiplexer that will be delivered later in 2007. Graduate student Ori Fox currently holds a NASA GSRP fellowship that supports his work at Goddard Space Flight Center characterizing HgCdTe detectors for the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRSpec spectrograph. Course Home Pages Astro 121 - Intro. to the Sky and Solar System Astro 174 - Intro. to Astronomical Research - Major's Seminar Astro 197 - Hands on Optics: Telescope/Mirror Making Astro 512 - Optical/Infrared Instrumentation

Mr. Skrutskie joined the department in 2001 from the University of Massachusetts. His recent work has focused on the development of near-infrared cameras and spectrographs and the execution of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) for which he was the PI. He leads the Astronomy Department's efforts in developing astronomical instrumentation at UVa .

Selected Recent Papers and Preprints A Two Micron All Sky Survey View of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy. I. Morphology of the Sagittarius Core and Tidal Arms, Majewski, Steven R., Skrutskie, M.F., Weinberg, M.D., Ostheimer, J.C 2003, ApJ, 599, p. 1082 Abstract Semiconductor fabrication techniques for producing an ultra-flat reflective slit, T.E. Vandervelde, M.J. Cabral, J. Wilson & M. Skrutskie, in Optomechanical Technologies for Astronomy, eds E. Attad-Ettedgui, J. Antebi and D. Lemke, 2006, SPIE, 6273 abstract Discovery of a Young Substellar Companion in Chamaeleon, K.L. Luhman, J.C. Wilson, W. Brandner, M.F. Skrutskie, M.J. Nelson, J.D. Smith, D.E. Peterson, M.C. Cushing & E. Young, 2006, ApJ, 649, 894 abstract The Mass and Structure of the Pleiades Star Cluster from 2MASS, Adams, Joseph D.; Stauffer, John R.; Monet, David G.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Beichman, Charles A. 2001, AJ, 121, p. 2053 Abstract CorMASS: A Compact and Efficient Near-Infrared Spectrograph for Studying Low-Mass Objects, Wilson, J. C.; Skrutskie, M. F.; Colonno, M. R.; Enos, A. T.; Smith, J. D.; Henderson, C. P.; Gizis, J. E.; Monet, D. G.; Houck, J. R. 2001, PASP, 113, p. 227 Abstract More publications...

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