Dr. Kenneth Carpenter is currently the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Operations Project Scientist and the Ground System Scientist for WFIRST. He leads the Stellar Imager Vision Mission concept development, and provide scientific guidance to the OpTIIX ISS-based technology demonstration project. His scientific interests include studies of the chromospheres, transition regions, winds and circumstellar shells of cool stars, as well as the calculation of model atmospheres and synthetic spectra and investigations of line fluorescence processes; hardware interests include development and operations of UV spectroscopic instruments and large baseline space interferometers. He is currently a member of the "Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory" at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
8/1988
-
Present
Astrophysicist
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD
Currently:
Operations Project Scientist for Hubble Space Telescope
Ground System Scientist for WFIRST
GSFC Lead Scientist for OpTIIX ISS-based technology demonstration mission
Principal Investigator, Stellar Imager (SI) Vision Mission Concept
Stellar Astrophysics and Space Instrument/Mission Development
Ultraviolet spectroscopy. Chromospheres, transition regions and winds of cool stars. Stellar activity. Model atmospheres and synthetic spectra. Line fluorescence processes. Chemically peculiar stars. Instrument development, in particular development and calibration of UV spectrographs. Long-Baseline Imaging Interferometry.
Carpenter is the lead scientist/architect for a long-term study of the outer atmospheres and winds of stars cooler than the sun, utilizing IUE, HST, ground-based and other space-based facilities. Core HST/GHRS results, based on combined GTO and GO programs, have been published in an ApJ series: ``GHRS Observations of Cool, Low-Gravity Stars. I-V''. He has collaborated in studies of stellar activity/chromospheric heating in Hyades F stars and of the origin of Ba-star abundances anomalies with E. Bohm-Vitense (U. Washington) and shared leadership (with H. Johnson/Univ. of Indiana) of large, international consortium study of carbon stars with HST. He has been involved in a multiple-cycle HST program to determine masses of Cepheid variables, published frequently-cited UV reference spectra for cool stars, obtained first measurements of turbulence and plasma downflows in the chromosphere of a cool giant star, and published a definitive summary of fluorescence in cool giant atmospheres (in collaboration with C. Jordan/Oxford U., England and S. Johansson/U. Lund, Sweden). He has also computed detailed, line-blanketed model atmospheres, including magnetic pressure, for upper main sequence stars to study effect of magnetic-field on structure and emergent spectrum and the degree to which line strength peculiarities in chemically peculiar stars can be explained without recourse to anomalous abundances.
HST Operations Project Scientist
Carpenter is currently the Operations Project Scientist for Hubble Space Telescope and provides scientific leadership, advice, guidance, and oversight to the Operations Project Manager and Staff, monitors budgeting activities as related to HST mission scientific requirements and participates in tradeoff decisions, monitors in-orbit performance of flight instruments & other spacecraft systems, provides scientific guidance in the assessment and resolution of spacecraft anomalies, supports the development of future science operations concepts, and oversees current STScI science operations.
Ground System Scientist for WFIRST
Carpenter is the Ground System Scientist for WFIRST and supports mission concept and ground system designs efforts via the GSFC WFIRST Project Science Office.
GSFC Lead Scientist for OpTIIX
Carpenter provides scientific guidance to the JPL/GSFC/JSC/STScI Optical Testbed and Integration on ISS eXperiment (OpTIIX) Team.
Principal Investigator, Stellar Imager (SI) Vision Mission
He is the Principal Investigator of the Stellar Imager (SI) Vision Mission Study - a concept for a large, space-based UV-optical interferometer designed to image the surfaces of nearby stars, probe their subsurface layers through asteroseismology (acoustic imaging), and improve our understanding of solar and stellar dynamos and thus our ability to predict solar/stellar activity and its effect on the habitability of planets, planetary climates, and life.
Principal Investigator, Fizeau Interferometer Testbed (FIT)
Carpenter led the Fizeau Interferometer Testbed (FIT) experiment, a ground-based laboratory testbed located at GSFC. This testbed developed and tested algorithms for closed-loop control of actuated multi-element (7-20) sparse aperture systems, using feedback from Phase Diversity analysis of the combined beams - a critical technology for future long-baseline Fizeau Interferometers and Sparse Aperture Telescopes.
GHRS Investigation Definition Team Co-I for Science Operations
Previously, Carpenter was GHRS (Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph) Investigation Definition Team Co-Investigator for Science Operations and guided GHRS Operations Development, Science Verification/Guaranteed Time Observer science program implementation, and helped ensure the high science productivity of the GHRS when it was installed on HST.
B.A. (Astronomy) Wesleyan University - 1976 Cum laude
M.A. (Astronomy) Wesleyan university - 1977
Ph.D. (Astronomy) Ohio State University - 1983
Ph.D. Thesis: "A Study of Magnetic, Line-Blanketed, Model Atmospheres"
International Astronomical Union,
1988
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Present
Member of IAU Commission 29 (Stellar Spectra), Organizing Committee - Commission 29, Commission 44 (Space & High Energy Astrophyics), and Commission 54 (Optical & Infrared Interferometry)
American Astronomical Society,
1977
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Present
Member.
NASA Awards:
GSFC Astrophysics Science Division Peer Award 2012: For demonstrating timely and dedicated professionalism to both the Astrophysics Science Division and Goddard Space Flight Center (by providing Scientific Leadership and Guidance to the OpTIIX Project)
Special Act Award-Individual (Outstanding Oversight of HST
Operations Project, leading to the success of SM4), August 2009
Performance Award, August 2009
JSC Group Achievement Award/STS-125 STOCC Team, July 2009
Special Act Award-Individual (HST SM4 Prep.), August 2008
Twenty Year Service Award, August 2008
Special Act Award (Stellar Imager/Fizeau Interf. Testbed Dev.), May 2006
Outstanding Teamwork--HST Robotic Serv./De-Orbit Mission Team, 2005
Fifteen Year Service Award, August 2003
Performance Award, March 2002
JSC Group Achievement Award HST SM3b, March 2002
Group Achievement Award--HST SM3a Team, Sept. 2000
National Resource Award--HST SM2, Feb. 1999
Special Act Award, Sept. 1998
Ten Year Service Award, August 1998
Performance Award, June 1998
Performance Award, 1996
Group Achievement Award--SL9 Jupiter Impact Observation Team, 1996
Quality Increase Award, 1995
Performance Award, 1994
Special Act Grp. Award--HST Continuous Process Improvement Team, 1994
Group Achievement Award--HST First Servicing Mission Science Team, 1994
Quality Increase Award, 1992
Certificate of Outstanding Performance, 1992
Special Act Award (GHRS/MAMA), April 1992
Certificate of Outstanding Performance 1991, Oct. 1991
Group Achievement Award (GHRS Development Team), March 1991
Performance Award, March 1991
Special Act or Service Award (GHRS Development Team), Sept. 1990
Viking (Mission to Mars) Internship, 1976
Other Awards:
Certificate of Appreciation, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, 2008
The Ohio State University Presidential Fellowship, 1982-83
Franklin B. Littell Prize for Astronomy, Wesleyan University 1976
National Merit Scholarship, 1972-76
State of Connecticut Scholar, 1972
Publications:
70 Refereed Papers
93 Other Major Publications and Review Talks
80 Abstracts of Meeting Presentations
