Our Team
Raman data collected at the Astrophysics & Astrochemistry Laboratory at NASA' Ames Research Center has been assembled into The Ames Raman Database (Rambd). A number of people, spanning several disciplines, were involved putting Ramdb together, for which you will find a short biography below.
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Dr. A.L. MattiodaDr. 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... |
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Dr. C.L. RickettsDr. Ricketts is a physical chemist working with the Astrophysics & Astrochemistry Laboratory studying analogues of a wide range of astrophysical environments using Raman spectroscopy. More... |
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Dr. A. RiccaDr. Ricca is a computational chemist with more than 20 years of expertise in the theoretical analysis of organic molecules including the calculation of IR and Raman vibrational frequencies and ionization potentials. She is responsible for computing the harmonic frequencies and intensities compiled in the Raman database. More... |
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Dr. Najeeb PunnakayathilDr. Najeeb Punnakayathil works as NPP in the ICEE Facility, led by Dr. Andrew Mattioda. His studies are on the existence and evolution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives in the ISM. He uses mass spectrometry, Raman and Infrared spectroscopy as tools by irradiating PAHs under harsh radiation like UV, X-rays, electrons and other charged particles. More... |
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Dr. U. GortiDr. Gorti's main expertise is in protoplanetary disk evolution theory, with a focus on the gas component. She is involved in developing theoretical models relevant to the observational data and interpreting observations from several space and ground-based facilities. Dr. Gorti has experience in many aspects of protoplanetary disk theory, heating and cooling processes, line and continuum radiative transfer, gas-dust dynamics, and computational modeling including hydrodynamics. More... |
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Dr. L. GavilanDr. Gavilan is currently a NASA postdoctoral program (NPP) fellow at the Space Science & Astrobiology Branch at NASA's Ames Research Center. During her NPP she has used the COSmIC chamber to study the evolution of carbon in the interstellar medium. In particular, she investigates the formation of dust grains from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). She is currently studying these formation processes with complementary spectroscopic techniques, including infrared and Raman spectroscopies, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and laser-desorption mass spectrometry. More... |
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Dr. G.A. Cruz-DiazDr. Cruz-Diaz is a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Ames Research Center. His main research interest is the interaction of PAH molecules with dust particles, more specifically the catalytic properties of interstellar dust analogs. Dr. Cruz-Diaz is also studying the physical and chemical conditions of so-called "Ocean Worlds". He is focusing on the energetical processing of PAH molecules embedded in a water matrix simulating organic molecules trapped in those Ocean Worlds' ices. More... |
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Dr. C. BoersmaDr. 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... |