Science - Evolution of Galaxies: People: Amy Mainzer

Postdoctoral Research with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
WISE will survey the entire sky with 500 times better sensitivity than IRAS at 12 and 23 microns, and 500,000 times better sensitivity than COBE at 3.3 and 4.7 microns. WISE will launch in late 2009, surveying the sky in 6 months after a one month checkout, and finding objects ranging from near-Earth asteroids to optically invisible quasars. Other objectives include finding the nearest and coolest brown dwarfs, massive galaxy clusters to redshift 1, and the most extreme infrared luminous galaxies in the universe. The successful candidates will use the WISE dataset, complemented by other large datasets, to identify near-Earth asteroids, cool brown dwarfs, distant galaxy clusters, ultraluminous infrared galaxies, and very red quasars (either due to obscuration or extreme redshift), and follow them up using facilities such as Palomar, Keck, Spitzer, Chandra, and HST. JPL has a share of Palomar 200 inch time. Depending on the research topic, Dr. Peter Eisenhardt or Dr. Amy Mainzer, respectively project scientist and deputy project scientist for WISE, will serve as JPL postdoctoral advisor to the selected candidate(s). The appointee will be guided by the JPL advisor to ensure that the research work will result in publications in the open literature.

WISE
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is a four-channel, super-cooled infrared telescope designed to survey the entire sky with 1,000 times more sensitivity than previous infrared missions.

Spitzer
The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility) was launched into space by a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 25 August 2003.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Astrophysics and Space Sciences Section (2003-present)

Deputy Project Scientist, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
Principal Investigator, NEOWISE, an enhancement to the WISE data processing pipeline that will facilitate solar system science, including discovery of new asteroids with WISE
Principal Investigator, Near Earth Object Camera (NEOCam), a proposed Discovery mission
Principal Investigator, MegaMIR, the world's first megapixel mid-infrared array for high background applications

Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (1995-2003)
- Principal Investigator, Pointing Calibration & Reference Sensor (PCRS) for Spitzer Space Telescope. The PCRS is the Observatory's fine guidance sensor, and it has been operational on-orbit since 2003.

JPL Ranger Award (2008)
NASA Graduate Student Research Program Fellowship (2001-2003)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (1996-1999)

Mainzer, A.; Hogue, H.; Stapelbroek, M.; et al. "Characterization of a Megapixel Mid-Infrared Array for High Background Applications" 2008 Proc. SPIE 7021
Mainzer, A.; Larsen, M.; Stapelbroek, M.; et al. "Characterization of Flight Detector Arrays for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer" 2008 Proc. SPIE 7021
Fabinsky, B.; Heinrichsen, I.; Mainzer, A.; et al. "The WISE In-Orbit Calibration" 2008 Proc. SPIE 7016, 52
Larsen, M.; Latvakoski, H.; Mainzer, A.; et al. "Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Science Payload Update" 2008 Proc. SPIE 7010
Gautier, T.; Rebull, L.; Stapelfeldt, K.; Mainzer, A. "Spitzer-MIPS Observations of the Eta Chamaeleontis Young Association" 2008 ApJ 683, 813
Mainzer, A.; Roellig, Thomas L.; Saumon, D.; Marley, Mark S.; Cushing, Michael C.; Sloan, G. C.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Leggett, S. K.; Wilson, John C. "Moderate-Resolution Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph Observations of M, L, and T" 2007 ApJ 662, 1245.
Mainzer, A. "NEOCam: The Near-Earth Object Camera" 2006 DPS 38.4509.
Mainzer, A., Eisenhardt, P., Wright, E. L., Liu, F., Irace, W., Heinrichsen, I., Cutri, R., Duval, V. "Preliminary Design of The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)," 2005 SPIE 5899.
Mainzer, A., Hong, J., Stapelbroek, M., Hogue, H., Molyneux, D., Ressler, M., Atkins, E., Reekstin, J., Werner, M., Young, E. "A New Large-Well 1024x1024 Si:As Detector for the Mid-Infrared," 2005 SPIE 5881.
Mainzer, A., Young, E. T., "On-orbit performance testing of the pointing calibration and reference sensor for the Spitzer Space Telescope" 2004 SPIE 5847, 93.
Mainzer, A.; McLean, Ian S.; Sievers, J. L.; Young, E. T. "Using Narrowband Photometry to Classify Stars and Brown Dwarfs," The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 604, pp. 832-841, 2004.
Gehrz, R. D.; Romana, E. A.; Hoffmann, W. F.; Schwenker, J. P.; Mentzell, J. E.; Hora, J. L.; Eisenhardt, P. R.; Brandl, B. R.; Armus, L.; Stapelfeldt, K. R.; Hines, D. C.; Mainzer, A.; Young, E. T.; Elliott, D. G. "The State of the Focus and Image Quality of the SIRTF CTA," 2003 AAS, 203.2214G
Mainzer, A.; McLean, Ian S. "Using Narrowband Photometry to Detect Young Brown Dwarfs in IC 348," The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 597, pp. 555-565, 2003.
Mainzer, A.; McLean, Ian S.; Aliado, Ted; Becklin, Eric E.; Brims, George; Goulter, John; Kress, Evan; Magnone, Nick; Milburn, John; Skulason, Gunnar; Spencer, Michael. "Characterization of FLITECAM: the first light camera for SOFIA," Airborne Telescope Systems II. Edited by Ramsey K. Melugin, Hans-Peter Roeser . Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 4857, pp. 21-28 (2003).
Mainzer, A.; Young, Erick T.; Greene, Thomas P.; Acu, Nagarjuna; Jamieson, Thomas H.; Mora, Hank; Sarfati, Sean; van Bezooijen, Roelof W. "Pointing calibration and reference sensor for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility," Proc. SPIE Vol. 3356, p. 1095-1101, Space Telescopes and Instruments V (1998).