CURRICULUM VITAE


Joseph A. Collins
University of Colorado
Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy
Campus Box 389
Boulder, CO 80309-0389
phone: (303) 492-4057
email: jcollins(at)colorado.edu
http://casa.colorado.edu/~jcollins/


EDUCATION

(dot) Ph.D. in Physics with concentration in Astrophysics; July, 2001

University of New Mexico; Albuquerque, NM

Thesis title: ``The Dynamic Ionized Gas Halos of Spiral Galaxies''

Thesis advisor: Richard J. Rand

(dot) B.S. in Physics; May, 1993

University of North Carolina; Chapel Hill, NC


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

(dot) University of Colorado; Boulder, CO

Research Associate, 8/01 to present

Postdoctoral Researcher with CASA, supervised by J. M. Shull.

(dot) Front Range Community College; Longmont, CO

Adjunct Instructor, 2005 spring semester

Will teach one section of the 2nd semester General Astronomy course, Astronomy 102. 

(dot) University of New Mexico; Albuquerque, NM

Research Assistant, 8/98 to 7/01

Researched properties of gaseous halos in spiral galaxies with Richard Rand.

(dot) University of New Mexico; Albuquerque, NM

Teaching Assistant, 8/95 to 7/98

Taught and developed laboratories in astronomy and physics. Worked at campus observatory for astronomy laboratories and public nights.


COURSES TAUGHT

(dot) Astronomy 102- General Astronomy (freshman level). Front Range Community College.

(dot) Astronomy 271L- Intermediate observational Astronomy lab. University of New Mexico.

(dot) Astronomy 111L- Introductory Astronomy lab. Duties included development of lab exercises and supervision of the campus observatory for labs and public nights. UNM.

(dot) Physics 161L- Electricity and magnetism lab. UNM.


MEMBERSHIPS

(dot) American Astronomical Society


RESEARCH INTERESTS

(dot) High-Velocity Clouds

(dot) Intervening Quasar Absorption-Line Systems

(dot) Gaseous Galactic Halos

(dot) Interstellar and Intergalactic Media


AWARDS

(dot) 1990 CRC Press Award for chemistry achievement (UNC-Chapel Hill).

(dot) 1993 Paul E. Shearin Award for outstanding senior physics major (UNC-Chapel Hill).


GRANTS

(dot) FUSE Cycle 5 Research (Program E084)- $40,200


TECHNICAL SKILLS

(dot) Experience with space-based FUSE and HST spectra.

(dot) Experience with ground-based narrow-band imaging data as well as long-slit spectra.

(dot) Familiarity with Fabry-Perot data and observations.

(dot) Expertise with image-manipulation software such as IRAF and GIPSY.

(dot) Programming skills using IDL and FORTRAN.

(dot) Experience with the photoionization code CLOUDY.


OBSERVATIONAL EXPERIENCE

(dot) Anglo-Australian Telescope, 3 nights, April 2001; Fabry-Perot and tunable-filter imaging on the 4-meter.

(dot) Kitt Peak National Observatory, 5 nights, September 1998; Deep narrowband imaging with the MOSAIC camera on the 0.9-meter.

(dot) Apache Point Observatory, 3 nights, March 1998; Deep narrowband imaging on the 3.5-meter ARC.

(dot) Capilla Peak Observatory, 1995-1997; A couple nights observing on the 24-inch UNM telescope.


VISITING TALKS

(dot) ``The Role of High-Velocity Clouds in Galactic and Local Group Evolution'' Colloquium, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, November 12, 2004.

(dot) ``Surveying the Highly Ionized HVCs with FUSE and HST.'' at Astrophysics in the Far Ultraviolet conference, Victoria, BC, August, 4, 2004.

(dot) ``High-Velocity Clouds: Galactic halo or Extragalactic Objects?'' Colloquium, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, February 10, 2004.

(dot) ``The Origin of High-Velocity Cloud Complex C.'' Special seminar, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, November 15, 2002.

(dot) ``Ionized Gas Halos of Normal Spiral Galaxies.'' Special seminar, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, March 7, 2001.


PUBLICATIONS

(dot) ``Highly Ionized High-Velocity Clouds: Hot Intergalactic Medium or Galactic Halo?'' Collins, J. A., Shull, J. M., & Giroux, M. L., Astrophysical Journal, in press (astro-ph/0501061).

(dot) ``Highly Ionized High-Velocity Clouds toward PKS 2155-304 and Markarian 509.'' Collins, J. A., Shull, J. M., & Giroux, M. L. 2004, Astrophysical Journal, 605, 216

(dot) ``A Survey of Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer and Hubble Space Telescope Sight Lines through High-Velocity Cloud Complex C.'' Collins, J. A., Shull, J. M., & Giroux, M. L. 2003, Astrophysical Journal, 585, 336.

(dot) ``Kinematics of Diffuse Ionized Gas Halos: A Ballistic Model of Halo Rotation.'' Collins, J. A., Benjamin, R., & Rand, R. J. 2002, ApJ, 578, 98.

(dot) ``Ionization Sources and Physical Conditions in the Diffuse Ionized Gas Halos of Four Edge-On Galaxies.'' Collins, J. A., & Rand, R. J. 2001, ApJ, 551, 57.

(dot) ``Diffuse Ionized Gas in a Sample of Edge-on Galaxies and Comparisons with HI and Radio Continuum Emission.'' Collins, J. A., Rand, R. J., Duric, N., & Walterbos, R. A. M. 2000, ApJ, 536, 645.


CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

(dot) ``Surveying the Highly Ionized HVCs with FUSE and HST.'' Collins, J. A., Shull, J. M., & Giroux, M. L., in Astrophysics in the Far Ultraviolet, edited by G. Sonneborn, H. W. Moos, & B.-G. Andersson, ASP Conf. Series, in press.

(dot) ``Highly Ionized HVCs Towards PKS 2155-304: Galactic or Extragalactic?'' Collins, J. A., Shull, J. M., & Giroux, M. L. 2004, in How Does the Galaxy Work?, edited by E. J. Alfaro, E. Perez, & J. Franco, Kluwer, Vol. 315, 146.

(dot) ``The Metallicity of High-Velocity Cloud Complex C.'' Collins, J. A., Shull, J. M., & Giroux, M. L. 2003, in The IGM/Galaxy Connection, edited by J. Rosenberg & M. Putman, Kluwer Vol. 281, 169.

(dot) ``Physical Conditions in Diffuse Ionized Gas Halos.'' Collins, J. A., & Rand, R. J. 2001, in Galaxy Disks and Disk Galaxies, edited by J. G. Funes & E. M. Corsini, ASP Conf. Series Vol. 230, 307.

(dot) ``Shocks as a Secondary Source of Ionization in Diffuse Ionized Gas Halos.'' Collins, J. A., & Rand, R. J. 2001, in Gas and Galaxy Evolution, edited by J. E. Hibbard, M. P. Rupen, and J. H. van Gorkom, ASP Conf. Series Vol. 240, 392.