Astronomy Research Faculty

Interstellar Medium and Circumstellar Material

Professor Jan Cami Dr. Jan Cami
Research Areas: My main interest is in the circumstellar matter surrounding evolved stars (AGB stars) and in the astrochemistry of the interstellar medium although I have studied the molecular content and dynamics of external galaxies as well. I study the Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) and their relation to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Research web site: http://www.astro.uwo.ca/~jcami
Email: jcami [at] uwo.ca
Professor Martin Houde Dr. Martin Houde
Research Areas: My research is focused on understanding the physical processes that lead to the formation of stars. A substantial part of my efforts is concerned with characterizing the magnetic fields and turbulence that are believed to be important agents that determine the physical conditions in molecular clouds, sites of star formation. My research group also develops and tests instruments within the Submillimetre Astronomical Laboratory, which are then deployed at premier millimetre/submillimetre astronomical observatories.
Research web site: http://www.astro.uwo.ca/~houde/research.html
Email: mhoude2 [at] uwo.ca
Professor Carol Jones Dr. Carol Jones
Research Areas: Circumstellar material is common among massive, early-type stars and often takes the form of an equatorial disk.

I construct computational models of these disks to try to understand how they form and what their physical conditions are. Numerical radiative transfer techniques are used to predict spectra and images of the circumstellar material. Models are constrained by comparison to images obtained via the rapidly developing field of optical interferometry and to spectroscopy obtained at a wide variety of wavelengths. This research offers many computationally challenging problems.
Research web site: http://www.astro.uwo.ca/~cjones/home.html
Email: cejones [at] uwo.ca
Professor Els Peeters Dr. Els Peeters
Research Areas: I use observational data to study molecules and dust in interstellar and circumstellar environments, in particular galactic and extragalactic star forming regions. My main focus is the study of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon molecules (PAHs).
Research web site: http://www.astro.uwo.ca/~epeeters/research.shtml
Email: epeeters [at] uwo.ca
Professor Aaron Sigut Dr. Aaron Sigut
Research Areas: My main research interests are the radiative transfer and hydrodynamical processes occurring in circumstellar disks surrounding hot stars. I also have research projects involving the modeling of the emission line spectra of active galactic nuclei and the quantitative analysis of stellar atmospheres using non-LTE radiative transfer. All of my research projects involve large-scale, computational modeling.
Research web site: http://altair.astro.uwo.ca/~asigut/
Email: asigut [at] uwo.ca