DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY

Research

Mel Ulmer was a charter member and Co-Investigator of the Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE) on the space-based Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The Observatory was in operation until 2004.

He divides his time between observational astrophysics and technology development to enable new research opportunities. His astrophysical research interests are clusters of galaxies, tidal disruption events, and variable AGNs in rich clusters of galaxies. Plus, to understand better the need for improved coronagraphs used in exoplanet imaging, he also supervises data analysis of archival exoplanet imaging data. His technology development is based on specialized materials: magnetic smart materials and shape memory alloys.  The applications range from deployable space optics to adjustable thin-walled X-ray optics for synchrotron beamlines.

Awards and Honors

• Recipient, Alan Berman Research Publication Award
• Fellow, American Physical Society
• Fellow, SPIE

Selected Publications

• M. P. Ulmer and B. W. Wessels
  GaN-Based Detectors Advance UV Astronomy
  Laser Focus World 42, 109 (2006)
• C. Adami, R. Scheidegger, M. Ulmer, et al.
  A Deep Wide Survey Of Faint Low Surface Brightness Galaxies In The Direction Of The Coma Cluster Of Galaxies
  Astronomy & Astrophysics 459, 679 (2006)
• M. P. Ulmer, C. Adami, G. Covone, et al.
  Cl 1205+44: A Fossil Group at z = 0.59
  Astrophysical Journal 624, 124 (2005)
• B. Han, B. W. Wessels, and M. P. Ulmer
  Optical Investigation of Electronic States of Mn4+ Ions in p-Type GaN
  Applied Physics Letters 86, 042505 (2005)