Astronomy and Astrophysics

Home
Courses

Research Students 1990 - present

Mita Gopal, current ph.D. student
	Mita started an M.Sc. in 2005 but towards the end of the year transferred to the Ph.D. programme. She is researching CNO abundances in the globular cluster Omega Centauri.

Siramas Komonjinda, current Ph.D. student
	Siramas is using the HERCULES spectrograph to study binary stars that appear to have very low-eccentrcity orbits

Liz Wylie, current Ph.D. student
	Liz's research concerns heavy-element abundances in asymptotic giant branch stars.

Judy Mohr, current Ph.D. student
	Judy is developing an active optics system for the McLellan Telescope at Mt John for her Ph.D. project.

Clare Worley, current Ph.D. student


Veronica Miller, current Ph.D. student
	Veronica's is searching for transiting extrasolar planets in the Galactic bulge.

Duncan Wright, M.Sc. (2003), current Ph.D. student
	Duncan obtained his M.Sc. in 2003 with a thesis entitled A spectroscopic study of two non-radially pulsating stars: HD160641 and FG Virginis. His doctoral research concerns mode identification in QW Puppis, which is a Gamma-Doradus variable.

Malcolm Cropp, M.Sc. (2002), current Ph.D. student
	Malcolm's M.Sc. was awarded in 2002 for a thesis entitled Spectroscopic analysis of southern delta Scuti-type variable stars. He is now enrolled for Ph.D. research involving time-sequence photometry of open clusters.

Andrew Rakich, M.Sc. (2001), current extramural Ph.D. student
	Andrew's M.Sc. thesis (2001) applied algebraic methods to the design of three mirror anastigamts. He is now enrolled for a Ph.D. that extends this work to four-mirror systems.

Tamsyn McClelland, current extramural, part-time M.Sc. student
	Tamsyn is wring an M.Sc. thesis reviewing the history, theory and observations of gravitational microlensing.

Stuart Barnes, M.Sc. (1998), Ph.D. (2005)
	Stuart completed his MSc thesis on Spectroscopic observations of the circumstellar disk of Beta Pictoris in 1998. He then worked for his PhD on several aspects of the construction of high resolution astronomical spectrographs, including HERCULES (High Efficiency and Resolution Canterbury University Large Echelle Spectrograph), which will enhance the ability to perform high resolution and precision spectroscopy at Mt John, and the High-Resolution Spectrograph (HRS) for SALT. His Ph.D. was awarded in 2005 and he is now working on astronomical instrumentation at the University of Texas in Austin.

David Ramm, Ph.D. (2005)
	David was awarded his Ph.D. in 2005 on Precise stellar radial velocities for determining stellar masses using visual binary systems.

Glenn Bayne, Ph.D. (2004)
	Glenn was awarded his Ph.D. in 2004 for a thesis entitled Eclipsing binary star systems in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds.

Jennifer McSaveney, Ph.D. (2003)
	The title of Jennifer's Ph.D. thesis was Type II Cepheids: line formation and hydrodynamics. He degree was awarded in 2002.

Daniel Pooley, Ph.D. (2003)
	The title of Daniel's PhD thesis was Spectroscopic and photometric monitoring of southern post-asymptotic giant branch stars.

John Bentley, M.Sc. (2002)
	John completed his M.Sc. in 2002 with a thesis entitled Short-term instabilities in Gamma Velorum: A search for strange modes in variable stars.

Orlon Petterson, M.Sc. (1996), Ph.D. (2002)
	The research for Orlon's M.Sc. (1996) centred on the spectroscopic monitoring of the protoplanetary-disc star beta Pictoris. This is a currently very topical subject because of the clues beta Pictoris may yield concerning star formation. Orlon then embarked on Ph.D. research centered on binary Cepheids, which was completed in 2002. He now works in Teaching and Computing Support in the Department.

Ceridwen Livingston, M.Sc. (2002)
	Ceridwen obtained an M.Sc. in 2002 with a thesis entitled An analysis of the light curves of 20 novae and their use as distance indicators.

Ljiljana Skuljan, Ph.D. (2001)
	In 2001 Ljiljana successfully completed her Ph.D. research on the declines of R Coronae Borealis stars. She subsequently lectured in the Department.

James Yan Tse, M.Sc. (2001)
	James completed his M.Sc. thesis in 2001 on the light curve and spectra of Nova Velorum 1999.

Lyndon Watson, M.Sc. (1991), Ph.D. (2000)
	In 1993 Lyndon completed his M.Sc. thesis, entitled Measurement of stellar radial velocities using the LUCIFERS radial-velocity spectrometer. Later that year Lyndon began a Ph.D., working on active chromoshpere stars which are EUV sources, as shown by ROSAT, and this was submitted in October 1999. Lyndon successfully defended his thesis in February 2000.

Jovan Skuljan, Ph.D. (2000)
	Jovan was awarded his Ph.D in early 2000. He then undertook postdoctoral reseach in this Department working for the MOA project, and later as a fixed-term lecturer. He is now employed by the Defence Technology Agency in Devonport.

Irene Cummings, Ph.D. (1998)
	Irene completed her Ph.D in 1998. It concerned Small amplitude radial-velocity variability in late-type giants and supergiants.

John Pritchard, Ph.D. (1997)
	John came to Canterbury following a first degree from the University of Otago. He completed his Ph.D., which centered on the study of eclipsing binary star systems in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, in early 1997. John continued this research as a Post-Doctoral Fellow here at Canterbury. He left Canterbury towards the end of the end of 1999 to take up a Foundation for Research, Science & Technology Postdoctoral Fellowship in Copenhagen. Subsequently he worked for several years as an Operational Staff Astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile. He is now with ESO's headquarters in Munich.

Karen Pollard, Ph.D. (1994)
	Karen completed her Ph.D. on The Nature of the Low Mass Supergiants: RV Tauri and R Coronae Borealis Variables in 1994. She has returned to Canterbury, after three years working in South Africa, to take up her second post-doctoral position, a NZ Science and Technology Post-Doctoral Fellowship. Karen then worked as a part-time lecturer in this Department. From here she moved to a similar position at Gettysburg College in the United States, Karen, along with her husband Michael Albrow, has now returned to the Department to take up a permanent lectureship.

Michael Albrow, Ph.D. (1994)
	Michael was awarded his Ph.D. in 1994. His research centered on the theoretical modelling of Metallic line profiles in Cepheid variables. He then held a research position at the South African Astronomical Observatory before returning to a similar position here in 1997. Michael left us in March 2000 to take up a research position at Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore but we are pleased that he has now returned to the department as a lecturer.

David Frame, M.Sc. (1993)
	David completed an M.Sc. in Astronomy in 1993. His thesis was entitled A photometric and spectroscopic analysis of the southern extremely hydrogen deficient binary stars . He then completed a Ph.D. in Atmospheric, Ionospheric and Space Physics here at Canterbury, still within the department, and went to work for the Treasury for two years. He is now Project Manager for climateprediction.net at the University of Oxford in the UK. He is the author of the satirical novel Light Speed.

Kaylene Murdoch, Ph.D. (1993)
	Kaylene's Ph.D. thesis was entitled A High precision radial-velocity search for sub-stellar companions to southern solar-type stars, which is to say that she was looking for brown dwarfs and perhaps planets. Kaylene graduated in 1993 and subsequently took up a postdoctoral fellowship in Astrophysics at the University of Oxford in England, and later worked for the Oxford University Press. She is now back in Christchurch working for the State Services Commission.

Donna-Maree Ward, M.Sc. (1992)
	Donna completed her M.Sc. in 1992. Her subject of research was Radial-velocity spectrometry of southern late-type supergiants . She has since done a Ph.D. in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering here at the University of Canterbury.

Alan Wadsworth, M.Sc. (1991)
	Alan's 1991 M.Sc. thesis was entitled A variable star search of ESO Key Programme regions in the Magellanic Clouds.

Steve West, M.Sc. (1991)
	Steve's M.Sc. thesis, which he completed in 1991, was entitled CCD photometry of eclipsing binary stars in the Magellanic Clouds. After this he commenced Ph.D. study at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. He now lives in Mexico City.

Warrick Lawson, Ph.D. (1990)
	Warrick obtained his Ph.D. in 1990. The topic of his research was The characteristics of cool hydrogen-deficient carbon stars. Warrick is now Associate Professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy, but maintains a high degree of collaboration with the Canterbury Astronomy Group.