IACS Personnel

I currently am a physics PhD candidate at The Catholic University of America, conducting research at NASA/GSFC on the evolution of galaxies in the GOODS and UDF05 field surveys. Recently, I artificially redshifted local interacting galaxies, analyzed their morphologies and compared with high redshift star-forming galaxies, such as Lyman break galaxies. I am also analyzing galaxies observed by Spitzer/IRAC, HST/NICMOS, HST/ACS cameras, to find the morphological properties of galaxies over redshift. I also created a table of nearby, interacting galaxies from the Rogues Gallery, by Hibbard et al. that have been observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and GALEX.

During my first graduate research assistantship, I studied solar radio bursts (type IV) as observed by Wind/Waves and their associations with massive coronal mass ejections. My undergraduate research included three internships. First, I observed variable stars in the optical wavelengths. Second, I completed an REU internship at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Greenbank, WV, where I analyzed spectral data to search for high-velocity HI regions in the Milky Way galaxy. Third, I worked with MHD (magnetohydrodynamics) code to explore a theoretical method in solar corona heating. Between undergraduate and graduate education, I taught high school physics in Baltimore, MD, via the Teach For America program.

Education

B.S. Physics 2001 The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
M.S. Physics 2006 Catholic University of America, Washington, DC

Employment and Research Positions

2007-Present
   Research Assistant, Physics Dept. Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
   Advisors: Dr. Duilia de Mello, & Dr. Jonathan P. Gardner

2004-2007
   Research Assistant, Physics Dept. Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
   Advisor: Dr. Nat Gopalswamy

2003-2004
   High School Physics Teacher, Teach For America
   Frederick Douglass High School Baltimore, MD

1999-2002
   Academic Writing Assistant, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA

Summer 2001
   Research Assistant, High Altitude Observatory, Boulder, CO
   Advisors: Dr. Tom Bogdan and Dr. E. J. Zita (Evergreen State College)

Summer 2000
   REU Intern, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Greenbank, WV
   Advisor: Dr. Felix J. Lockman

Summer 1999
   Research Assistant, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
   Advisor: Dr. E. J. Zita

Publications

"Structures of Local Galaxies Compared to High Redshift Star-forming Galaxies", S.M. Petty, D.F. de Mello, J.S. Gallagher III, J.P. Gardner, J.M. Lotz, C.M. Mountain, & L.J. Smith 2009, AJ, 138, 362 (link)

"Intergalactic H II regions of Interacting Galaxies", P.M.F Urrutia, C. Mendes de Oliveira, D.F. de Mello, S. Torres-Flores, S.M. Petty, 2009, to be submitted

"Quantifying The Morphologies Of Galaxies At Z 1 To 4: A multi-wavelength Survey On The Progenitors Of Local Galaxies" S.M. Petty 2009, 213th American Astronomical Society Meeting, #362.04D, Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society

"A Multi-Wavelength Morphological Study of Galaxies observed by NICMOS UDF05 at z~1 to 3.5", S.M. Petty, D.F. de Mello, J.P Gardner, & T. Wiklind 2009, in preparation

"Comparing Local Starbursts to High-Redshift Galaxies: Searching for Local Analogs of Lyman-Break Galaxies", S.M. Petty, D.F. de Mello, J.S. Gallagher III, J.P. Gardner, J.M. Lotz, C.M. Mountain, & L.J. Smith 2008, When the Universe Formed Stars, Meeting in Martinique, Eds: D. Burgarella & M. Lemoine-Busserolle, in preparation

"Searching for Lyman-break Galaxies in a Morphological Study of Interacting Galaxies Artificially Redshifted", S.M. Petty, D.F. de Mello, & J.P. Gardner 2008, AAS 211, 97.17, Bulletin of the AAS, 39, 906

"Waves in the magnetized solar atmosphere. II. Waves from localized sources in the magnetic flux concentrations", T.J. Bogdan, M. Carlsson, V. Hansteen, A. McMurry, C.S. Rosenthal, M. Johnson, S.M. Petty-Powell, E.J. Zita, R.F. Stein, S.W. McIntosh, & A. Nordlund 2003, ApJ, 599, 626

"A very sensitive 21 centimeter survey for Galactic High-Velocity H I", F.J. Lockman, E.M. Murphy, S.M. Petty-Powell, & V.J. Urick 2002, ApJS, 140, 331

"Waves in magnetic flux concentrations: The critical role of mode mixing and interference", T.J. Bogdan, C.S. Rosenthal, M. Carlsson, V. Hansteen, A. McMurry, E.J. Zita, M. Johnson, S.M. Petty-Powell, S.W. McIntosh, A. Nordlund, R.F. Stein, & S.B.F. Dorch 2002, Astronomische Nachrichten, 323, 196

"A New Survey for Faint Galactic High-velocity HI Clouds", F.J. Lockman, E.M. Murphy, S.M. Petty-Powell, & V.J. Urick 2001, 197th AAS Meeting, #04.15, Bulletin of the AAS, 32, 1391