Image of the Sirius binary system. The brighter, overexposed object is Sirius A while the white dwarf, Sirius B, is the faint star to the lower left, just below the diffraction spike. This image was obtained using the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope.

Astrophysics

I have been involved for many years in internation programmes studying hot White Dwarfs and coronally active stars through the analysis and interpretation of ground and space based observations in optical, UV, EUV and X-ray wavebands. Complementing this has been an active programme of theoretical studies of the white dwarf atmospheres and the interstellar medium.

Instrumentation

I have been involved in the development and operation of micro-channel plate (MCP) detectors in the UV, EUV and X-ray spectral ranges. I carried out his PhD research by developing a rocket-borne wide-field EUV payload utilizing MCPs and then served as Detector Scientist for the ROSAT Wide Field Camera. In this role I was responsible for detector calibration and testing. More recently I have become in the development of a novel high spectral resolution, high throughput normal incidence EUV spectrometer for flight on a NASA sounding rocket. I am also working on the World Space Observatory and the ESA Gaia mission.