PUFFINS
Team

A collaboration across four continents

PUFFINS brings together UV instrument builders, polarimetrists, and the theorists who developed the modern picture of grain alignment — the combination the measurement needs.

World map with markers on the institutions contributing to PUFFINS: the University of Arizona, IPAC/Caltech, University of Denver, Space Science Institute, UW–Madison, UT Austin, Leiden Observatory, Chalmers University, STScI, OeAW and Silicon Austria Labs in Austria, IUCAA and IIA in India, KASI in Korea, and SAAO in South Africa.
The PUFFINS collaboration. Credit: PUFFINS team.

The team

Leadership

  • Ramya M. Anche
    Ramya M. Anche
    Principal Investigator
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • Kyle Van Gorkom
    Kyle Van Gorkom
    Deputy PI
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • B-G Andersson
    B-G Andersson
    Science PI
    McDonald Observatory, UT Austin
  • Victor Gasho
    Victor Gasho
    Project Manager
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • Hannah Tanquary
    Hannah Tanquary
    Systems Engineer
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona

Co-Investigators

  • Ewan S. Douglas
    Ewan S. Douglas
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • Carlos J. Vargas
    Carlos J. Vargas
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • Haeun Chung
    Haeun Chung
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • Erika Hamden
    Erika Hamden
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • Meredith Kupinski
    Meredith Kupinski
    Wyant College of Optical Sciences
  • Alexandre Lazarian
    Alexandre Lazarian
    University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Geoff Clayton
    Geoff Clayton
    Space Science Institute
  • Ryan Lau
    Ryan Lau
    NSF NOIRLab
  • Sreejith Aickara Gopinathan
    Sreejith Aickara Gopinathan
    IWF, Austrian Academy of Sciences

Collaborators

  • Tram N. Le
    Tram N. Le
    Leiden University
  • Thiem Hoang
    Thiem Hoang
    Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
  • Luca Fossati
    Luca Fossati
    IWF, Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Ambily Suresh
    Ambily Suresh
    Silicon Austria Labs
  • Jaren Ashcraft
    Jaren Ashcraft
    University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Grant Williams
    Grant Williams
    University of Arizona
  • Jennifer Hoffman
    Jennifer Hoffman
    University of Denver
  • Gina Panopoulou
    Gina Panopoulou
    Chalmers University of Technology
  • Stephen Potter
    Stephen Potter
    South African Astronomical Observatory
  • Siddharth Maharana
    Siddharth Maharana
    IUCAA, Pune
  • Archana Soam
    Archana Soam
    Indian Institute of Astrophysics
  • Karl Gordon
    Karl Gordon
    Space Telescope Science Institute

Graduate students & postdocs

  • Kelian Sommer
    Kelian Sommer
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • Jaegun Yoo
    Jaegun Yoo
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • Pierre Nicolas
    Pierre Nicolas
    Steward Observatory, University of Arizona

Portraits courtesy of the individual team members.

Institutions

  • Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
  • Wyant College of Optical Sciences
  • McDonald Observatory, UT Austin
  • Space Science Institute
  • IWF, Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Silicon Austria Labs
  • Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
  • NSF NOIRLab
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • University of Denver
  • Space Telescope Science Institute
  • University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Leiden University
  • Chalmers University of Technology
  • IUCAA, Pune
  • Indian Institute of Astrophysics
  • South African Astronomical Observatory

Students

A SmallSat is one of the few places where a student can follow a scientific instrument from an optical prescription to data on the sky inside a single degree. PUFFINS involves graduate and undergraduate students in optical design and tolerancing, polarimetric calibration, target selection, and data reduction.

Students at the University of Arizona interested in ultraviolet instrumentation or polarimetry are welcome to get in touch.

Contact the team

IMAGE SLOTTeam or lab photo
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The PUFFINS team at the University of Arizona. Credit: [ photographer ] / University of Arizona.

Support

Concept development for PUFFINS was supported in part by the University of Arizona Space Institute.