Dr. Craig Markwardt has been a research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center since 1997. He first worked with Jean Swank of the RXTE PCA project, on the studies of X-ray binaries. He has studied millisecond X-ray pulsars, accreting black hole microquasars, and has performed long term monitoring of the galactic center with the PCA instrument. Since 2001, he as also worked on the development and flight of the BAT instrument aboard the Swift gamma-ray burst mission. In addition to developing ground software for burst work, Markwardt has been using BAT survey data, both to continue X-ray binary work, and to search for faint active galactic nuclei. In 2009, Markwardt joined the GEMS project team and is excited to open a new frontier in the systematic study of X-ray polarimetry. Markwardt will manage the science operations effort including science software, data processing and observational planning.
Scientific
- Observational study of galactic neutron star and black hole systems;
- X-ray spectroscopy and high frequency variability;
- Long term x-ray monitoring of galactic transients;
- X-ray polarimetry.
Programmatic
- GEMS Science Operations Center: science target planning, science data processing software, science data processing pipeline;
- Swift BAT coded aperture analysis, including imaging, spectroscopy, and time series;
- instrument calibration, including image alignment and response matrix development;
- high frequency time series analysis;
- RXTE PCA instrument background modeling.
GEMS Science Operations Center
- Design and implementation of science operations effort for GEMS X-ray polarimetry mission
- Science data processing pipeline
- Science target planning
- Science software development
Pioneer 10 spacecraft "anomaly."
RXTE PCA Project Science
- RXTE PCA studies of millisecond X-ray pulsars
- RXTE PCA monitoring of the galactic bulge (please see the PCA Bulge Monitoring page).
- Follow-up of transient X-ray sources
Swift BAT Project Science
- Gamma-Ray Burst data processing and analysis
RXTE PCA Programmatic Work
- Production of RXTE PCA background models for the community. Please see the PCA Team Page for more information.
- RXTE PCA software
- RXTE Timing calibration
Swift BAT Programmatic Work
- Swift BAT ground software.
- Swift data processing scripts and documentation.
- Swift BAT survey analysis.
Swift BAT All-Sky Survey
- Swift BAT survey of the hard X-ray sky (14-200 keV).
- Detection and characterization of hundreds of extragalactic AGN; comparison of obscured and unobscured systems.
- Characterization of galactic hard X-ray sources.
7/2010
-
Present
Research Astrophysicist
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD
- GEMS SOC Manager
- Swift BAT Team Member
- RXTE PCA Team Member
9/1999
-
7/2010
Assistant Research Scientist
University of Maryland,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
- GEMS SOC Manager
- Swift BAT Team Member
- RXTE PCA Team Member
8/1997
-
9/1999
Resident Research Associate
National Research Council,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
- Ph.D. Physics, August 1997,University of Wisconsin --- Madison
Professor Hakki Ogelman, advisor.
Thesis: "The Wind Interaction Regions of the Vela Pulsar: a Pulsar Jet and Bow Shock Nebula" - B.S. Physics, June 1992, Stanford University
NASA Robert H. Goddard Award for Exceptional Achievement in Engineering, September, 2008, Greenbelt, MD
NASA Space Science Achievement Award, July 2003, Greenbelt, MD
Dr. Craig Markwardt has been a research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center since 1997. He first worked with Jean Swank of the RXTE PCA project, on the studies of X-ray binaries. He has studied millisecond X-ray pulsars, accreting black hole microquasars, and has performed long term monitoring of the galactic center with the PCA instrument. Since 2001, he as also worked on the development and flight of the BAT instrument aboard the Swift gamma-ray burst mission. In addition to developing ground software for burst work, Markwardt has been using BAT survey data, both to continue X-ray binary work, and to search for faint active galactic nuclei. In 2009, Markwardt joined the GEMS project team and is excited to open a new frontier in the systematic study of X-ray polarimetry. Markwardt will manage the science operations effort including science software, data processing and observational planning.
