Titania by John Simmons

Who Am I?

I'm currently multitasking my life away. I work half-time on my PhD thesis examining the X-ray spectral variability of active galactic nuclei. My other half time is spent working as a support scientist in the High Energy Astrophysics Lab at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Forty percent of time is spent working on the science web site for the still-in-development Constellation-X X-ray mission. The rest of my time (10%) I spend working on odd writing, research and graphics projects for the Gamma Ray, Cosmic Ray and Gravitational Wave Brach.

From June 1998 until January 2000, I worked as a graduate research assistant at Goddard Space Flight Center . During Summer 1998, Spring 1999, and Summer - Fall 2000 I worked with an X-ray instrumentation group developing X-ray microcalorimeters and Transition Edge Sensors . From Summer 1999 - Spring 2000, I worked with an X-ray astrophysicist on a research project looking at the broad band X-ray variability of MCG -5-23-16, which is serving as the starting point of my PhD thesis. Our paper on MCG-5-23-16 appeared in one of the February editions of The Astrophysical Journal. I passed my astronomy Ph.D. qualifying exams in August 2000, and then decided to take a year off to work (and to regain some of my fleeting sanity). I earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Maryland Astronomy Department in May 2001 (see picture).

In June 1998, I graduated from New Mexico Tech with two Bachelor of Science degrees: one in astrophysics, the other in mathematics. While in New Mexico, I also had the opportunity to volunteer with Project ASTRO-NM. This is project pairs an area school teacher with an astronomer to promote astronomy education in public schools. I worked with a special education class at Saracino Middle School in Socorro, leading them in making a comet, creating craters in flour and exploring the size of our solar system.

I started my college career at Normandale Community College in Minnesota (land of 10,000 Lakes, 10,000 Snowfalls, and 10,000 weirdos--kinda explains me).

In my spare time I read, go to the movies and do crafts (cross-stitch, hemp jewelry, and, more recently, mosaicing and basketweaving). I used to write fiction and poetry, and though my years in New Mexico and Maryland took a lot out of me, I've started writing again after a community education class in the Fall of 2003. Just before my PhD qualifying exams, I added the pleasant complication of a relationship to my life. Andrew and I have been dating since June 2000, moved in together in July 2002, and became engaged in November 2003 (!). We'll be getting married in September 2004.