Vanessa Harvey's Home Page
"I'm always serious, my dear. It's only my pleasant personality that makes
it seem otherwise"--Lwaxana Troi
Hello, and welcome to my page. Sit back, relax and let me
tell you a little about myself. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from Connecticut College in 1994. Currently I'm a
Physics Major at UNLV. By the way, I really
do like astronomy.
Current Research Project: We are investigating the morphology of galaxies
that lie in voids,
regions of the universe where the density of galaxies is low. The sample consists of
galaxies lying in voids identified in the CfA first redshift survey slice.
Faculty mentor: Dr. Donna Weistrop.
Summer 1998: Observations of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Markarian 231
at the 3.3 micron dust feature emission were obtained in order to determine
the dominant source of the far-IR luminosity. ISO
LWS spectra were also obtained of the galaxy. Participant in the SIECA intership
program at Goddard Space Flight Center. Mentors: Dr. Shobita Satyapal, Dr. Matt
Greenhouse.
Summer 1997: Determining the level of optically thin spontaneous emission of
hydrogen recombination lines in the starburst galaxy M82. Observations of M82
were taken in the far-IR wavelength region 43-196 microns with the
Infrared Space Observatory's (ISO) Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS).
Participant in the Maria Mitchell Observatory
summer REU program sponsored by the NSF. Mentor: Dr. Vladimir Strelnitski.
Presented January 1998 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in
Washington DC. Abstract here. (BTW, each of the six students in the program this past summer
presented at the AAS meeting!)
Summer 1996: Data reduction of M31 and the Fornax cluster from photographic plates. Participant in the National Optical Astronomy Observatories summer REU program. Mentor: Dr. Nigel Sharp. Find out what some of the other student researchers did- here-->REU Data Wranglers Spend a Productive Summer at KPNO.
Summer 1995 project: laser spectroscopy of N2+ in a coaxial ion beam/laser beam spectrometer.
Faculty mentor: Dr. John W. Farley.