NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database

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About Us

A synergy between the astronomers, laboratory chemists and theoretical chemists at the facilities of NASA's Ames Research Center has resulted in the collection of PAH spectra known as The NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database. Collaboration with different institutes, across several countries, helped mature the database and allowed for the construction of the web-portal, with its data and tools, you see here. Initially intended for astronomers to explain the astronomical unidentified infrared bands and to investigate the "PAH hypothesis", now the spectral data and developed paradigms prove also valuable to, e.g., chemists, environmentalists, pharmacologists and nano-technologists. Many people, across several disciplines, were involved, for which you will find a short biography below.

	F. Sánchez de Armas Fernando Sánchez is a Software Engineer from Spain who, thanks to an internship obtained in June 2008, came in contact with NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute. There he helped put together the website that hosts the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database. Fernando likes exploring the world and so, after his stay in California, he moved to Asia and continues to work as a Systems Administrator in Singapore.
	M.J. Shannon Dr. Matthew J. Shannon is a fellow of the NASA Postdoctoral Program, administered by the Universities Space Research Association at NASA Ames Research Center. He is playing an instrumental part in the development of the AmesPAHdbPythonSuite and pypahdb. More...
	G. Puerta Saborido Gerardo Puerta is a Software Engineer Specialist in Web Development, Requirements Analysis and Software Development Lifecycle. In January of 2009, thanks to his previous educational and professional achievements, he was awarded an internship from the Spanish Government in collaboration with the United States. This internship brought him to California to work at NASA's Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute. There he worked on the website hosting the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database. More...
	Dr. J. E. Roser Dr. Joseph Roser is an experimental molecular physicist conducting research with the Space Science and Astrobiology Division, Astrophysics Branch, at NASA Ames Research Center. His research interests include the surface compositions of icy bodies in the outer Solar System and the condensed matter astrophysics of the interstellar medium. He has contributed infrared cluster spectra of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons embedded in argon ice. More...
	Dr. A. Ricca Dr. Ricca is a computational chemist with more than 15 years of expertise in the theoretical analysis of organic molecules including the calculation of IR vibrational frequencies and ionization potentials. She is responsible for computing the harmonic frequencies and intensities compiled in the PAH IR database. More...
	Dr. E. Peeters Dr. E. Peeters is an astronomer studying molecules and dust in interstellar and circumstellar environments, in particular Galactic and extra-galactic star-forming regions. She has extensive experience analyzing spectroscopic observations from various observatories and comparing these observations with laboratory and theoretical spectroscopic data in the NASA Ames PAH Infrared Spectroscopic Database. More...
	R. Norris Robert Norris is an undergraduate student of physics and mathematics at San Jose State University. He is responsible for implementing the cascade model of PAH cooling into the C++ code used by the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database website, and will be working on implementing a fitting tool to be added to the website. He began working on the database during an internship with the SETI Institute in August of 2010, and will continue working on the database tools until he graduates in May of 2011, after which he plans to pursue a Ph. D. in physics.
	Dr. Alexandros Maragkoudakis Dr. Maragkoudakis an astronomer and currently with the Astrophysics & Astrochemistry Laboratory group at NASA's Ames Research Center. His research focuses on the multi-wavelength study of nearby galaxies, with a particular interest in understanding the role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) play. The NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database is an essential asset in his research. More...
	Dr. A.L. Mattioda Dr. Mattioda is an experimental physical chemist with a background in molecular spectroscopy and environmental chemistry. He designs and carries out laboratory studies on the spectroscopic properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the interstellar environment as well as cosmic ices. These studies are utilized in the interpretation of astronomical observations made with ground-, air-, and space-based observatories. More...
	M. Lee Marcus Lee is currently a senior at Homestead High School in Cupertino California. He interned under Dr. Christiaan Boersma, Dr. Cesar Contreras, and Dr. Louis Allamandola in the summer of 2012, and plans to major in Physics as he applies to universities. He and Lucas Luna, a Biochemistry major at UCSB, helped input vibrational data into the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database.
	Dr. D.M. Hudgins Dr. Hudgins, trained as a chemist, has long been fascinated by the exotic and complex chemistry found in space. He measured the infrared spectra of PAHs and ices under interstellar conditions and has applied these to interpret infrared observations. In addition he is also an avid amateur astronomer and telescope maker. Now he is helping guide science at NASA Headquarters. More...
	Dr. V.J. Esposito Dr. Vincent J. Esposito started at Ames as a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow. Vincent obtained his Bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of South Carolina. There, he worked with Dr. Susan Richardson studying disinfection by-products in drinking water. During his undergraduate studies, Vincent spent a summer at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) working with the Dynamic Response of the Environments at Asteroids, The Moon, and moons of Mars (DREAM2); a part of SSERVI. There, under the direction of Dr. Bill Farrell, he studied the dynamics of the solar wind implantation into the Lunar surface. More...
	Dr. J. Cami Dr. Cami is a veteran stargazer and expert in optical and infrared astronomy, molecular spectroscopy and dust mineralogy. He studies the formation and evolution of gas and dust in the circumstellar environments of evolved stars, as well as in the interstellar medium. His research often involves comparing astronomical observations to theoretical models and laboratory data such as the PAH database presented here. He is currently a Professor at the University of Western Ontario (Canada) and a Research Associate at the SETI Institute.
	Dr. C. Boersma Dr. Boersma is an astronomer and currently with the Astrophysics & Astrochemistry Laboratory group at NASA's Ames Research Center, studying the role of PAHs in a multitude of astronomical environments. He conducts his research through analysing and interpreting astronomical spectra utilizing the combination of laboratory and synthesised spectroscopic data in the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database. More...
	Dr. C.W. Bauschlicher, Jr Dr. Bauschlicher is a computational chemist with more than 30 years of experience. He has published papers in a variety of areas including nanotechnology, thermochemistry, and organometallics. His recent passion has been the study of PAHs and he is responsible for computing the harmonic frequencies and intensities compiled in the PAH IR database.
	Dr. L. Allamandola Dr. Allamandola is an experimental physical chemist who has designed and carried out laboratory studies on the chemistry, composition, and spectroscopy of cosmic ices and organics for many years. These studies are used to interpret astronomical observations made with ground-, air-, and space-based observatories. More...