Robert J. Nemiroff | Physics (original) (raw)
University Professor
Professor, Physics
Fellow of American Physical Society
PhD, Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Pennsylvania
NSF CAREER Award (1997)
MTU Research Award (2012)
MTU University Professor (2021)
Biography
I worked at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, USA before coming to Michigan Tech. I am perhaps best known scientifically for papers predicting, usually among others, several recovered microlensing phenomena, and papers showing, usually among others, that gamma-ray bursts were consistent with occurring at cosmological distances. I led a group that developed and deployed the first online fisheye night sky monitor, called CONCAMs, deploying later models to most major astronomical observatories. I have published as first author and refereed for every major journal in astronomy and astrophysics. My current research interests include trying to limit attributes of our universe with distant gamma-ray bursts, and investigating the use of relativistic illumination fronts to orient astronomical nebulae.
In 1995, I co-created the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) with main NASA website at https://apod.nasa.gov/. A thumbnail of the latest APOD should appear on the upper left.
In 1999, I co-created the Astrophysics Source Code Library (ASCL) open repository. Housed at MTU and located online at https://ascl.net/, the ASCL now lists over 2600 codes and promotes greater research transparency. ASCL is indexed by ADS, making participating astrophysics codes easier to locate and cite.
I received the Michigan Tech Graduate Student Government's Exceptional Graduate Mentor award in 2021.
Research Interests
Gamma-ray bursts
Gravitational lensing
Smartphones as science sensors
Cosmology
Gravitation
Relativistic Illumination Fronts