X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory

Zaven Arzoumanian

(Research AST, Fields and Particles)

Zaven Arzoumanian's Contact Card & Information.
Email: zaven.arzoumanian-1@nasa.gov
Phone: 301.286.2547
Org Code: 662
Address:
NASA/GSFC
Mail Code 662
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer:
NASA

Missions & Projects

Current Projects


Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) Mission

Deputy Principal Investigator and Science Lead


X-ray and radio studies of pulsars and associated phenomena, including the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav)

Pulsars

Internal and emission properties, nebulae, tests of relativity, binary evolution, and low-frequency gravitational waves


Technology development

X-ray diffractometry using CCDs, for Earth and planetary exploration
Modulated X-ray sources, for detector calibration, communication, material science, and medical applications
X-ray "concentrator" optics, for telescopes with large effective-area to mass ratios

Positions/Employment


Research Astrophysicist

NASA - NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD

January 2017 - Present


Senior Research Scientist

USRA - NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD

2011 - January 2017


Director of Astronomy

USRA - Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, PR

October 2011 - July 2012


Research Scientist

USRA - NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD

2004 - 2011


Research Associate

USRA - NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD

2001 - 2004


Natl Res. Council Associate

NASA GSFC - Greenbelt, MD

1999 - 2001


Research Associate

Cornell University - Ithaca, NY

1994 - 1999


Graduate Teaching Assistant

Princeton University - Princeton, NJ

1992 - 1994


Graduate Research Assistant

Princeton University - Princeton, NJ

1989 - 1994

Education


1995 PhD, Physics Princeton University
Thesis: "Radio Observations of Binary Pulsars: Clues to Binary Evolution and Tests of General Relativity". Advisor: J. H. Taylor
1991 MA, Physics Princeton University
1989 BSc, Physics (Highest Honours) McGill University

Special Experience


Founding Director & current President, Wild Me, 501(c)(3) scientific charitable organization — www.wildme.org and www.whaleshark.org. NASA technology transfer success story at http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2009/er_1.html

Selected Publications


Refereed

2011. "Discovery of an Energetic Pulsar Associated with SNR G769+10." Astrophysical Journal 739 (1): 39 [10.1088/0004-637X/739/1/39] [Journal Article/Letter]

2008. "Chandra Confirmation of a Pulsar Wind Nebula in DA 495." The Astrophysical Journal 687 505 [Full Text] [10.1086/591654] [Journal Article/Letter]

2005. "An Astronomical Pattern-Matching Algorithm for Computer-Aided Identification of Whale Sharks." Journal of Applied Ecology 42 999 [Journal Article/Letter]

2004. "Measurement of Spin-Orbit Coupling in a Binary Pulsar System." Physics Review Letters 93 101 [Journal Article/Letter]

2004. "Laboratory Testbeds for Broadband X-ray Interferometry." SPIE 5488 623 [Journal Article/Letter]