Dr. Lisa Harvey-Smith

Current position

2007-Present: Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Sydney (Australia)
I work with Professor Bryan Gaensler and colleagues on researching cosmic magnetic fields and their impact on the structure of galaxies, the interstellar medium and supernova remnants. I study the formation of massive stars using radio interferometric observations and modeling of interstellar masers. I am a member of the GALFACTS technical group and the ASKAP survey science team for the Polarization Science Survey of the Universe's Magnetism (POSSUM). My job involves writing proposals, solving data reduction and calibration problems, interpreting scientific results, writing publications and grant applications, organising meetings, presenting at seminars and conferences and operating many of the world's largest radio telescopes. I also teach and supervise undergraduate students at the University of Sydney.

Awards, Professional Affiliations and Positions Held

• Chair of the Australia Telescope Time Allocation Committee 2009-2011
  
• Member of the International Astronomical Union 2009-
  
• Member of the Astronomical Society of Australia 2008-
  
• Referee for the Astrophysical Journal and the Astronomical Journal
  
• Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2003-
  
• Awarded a PPARC Ph.D. Studentship, 2002-2005
  
• Summer Studentship, Max-Plank-Institut für Radioastronomie, 2001
  

Education

2002-2005: Ph.D. University of Manchester

Awarded Ph.D. for "Studies of OH and methanol masers in regions of massive star-formation" at Jodrell Bank Observatory, The University of Manchester in December 2005.

1998-2002: MPhys(Hons) University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Awarded the Degree of Master of Physics with Honours in Astronomy and Astrophysics July 2002.

Past positions

2005-2007: Support Scientist, Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe, Dwingeloo (The Netherlands)
My time was divided equally between astronomical research and my role in the European VLBI Network (EVN) Technical Operations Group at JIVE. The EVN is an international radio telescope network that is run as a collaboration of the major radio astronomical institutes in Europe, Asia and South Africa. Technical duties of my role involved EVN user support, including scheduling and quality control of the hardware correlator output, as well as network monitoring and conducting real-time ftp fringe tests of the interferometer. Another important aspect of the job was performing tests on the data output and informing colleagues in the technical operations group when any faults arose with either the telescopes or the correlator. We would then fix the problem and liaise with telescope users about mitigating the effects of any sections of `bad' data that had arisen.

2002-2005: Ph.D., Jodrell Bank Observatory (United Kingdom). "Studies of OH and methanol masers in regions of massive star formation".

Multi-frequency studies of OH and methanol masers may constrain models of maser pumping, enabling us to gain a better understanding of the early evolution of massive stars. I used the MERLIN array of radio telescopes to image several star-forming regions at high resolution at 4.7 GHz. I then undertook a survey of the same group of star-forming regions using MERLIN's new capabilities at 6 GHz to study OH and methanol masers. The results in W3(OH) were very interesting, yielding information about the overall structure of the star-forming region. Extended maser filaments were found and conclusions were made as to the association of extended masers and physical processes within the HII region.

Teaching and Supervision

• Supervisor, University of Sydney Summer Student (David Webster), January-February 2009.
• Lecturer, The University of Sydney's Centre for Continuing Education course: 10 major advances in astronomy, October 2008.
• Tutorial leader, PHY1500 at the School of Physics, University of Sydney (2008, 2009).
• Supervisor of a high school student project (Nicholas Funai) on maser proper motions, April 2008.
• Lecturer, Cosmology Distinction Course (Charles Sturt University), May 2008.
• Lecturer, Talented Students Program at the School of Physics, University of Sydney, April 2008.
• Lecturer, JIVE Summer Student Lecture series 2007.
• Invited speaker, ESTRELA Radio Astronomy School, Dwingeloo, January 2007.
• Supervisor, JIVE Summer Student (Ana Duarte-Cabral) for 10 weeks in 2006, leading to a refereed journal publication.
• Tutor, European Radio Interferometry Summer School, Manchester, September 2005.
• Graduate Teaching Assistant: Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Manchester 2002-2005.
• Physics tutorial leader: Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Manchester 2003-2005.

Public Outreach

• Regular guest speaker to local Astronomical Societies and summer schools around Sydney (2007-2009).
• University of Sydney open day (2008), optical telescope demonstrations.
• ASTRON/JIVE open day (2006), created a "Women in Astronomy" exhibition.
• Writer and presenter for "The Jodcast", Jodrell Bank's astronomy internet podcast (2005-06).
• RAS press release (April 2006) leading to television, radio and newspaper interviews on my research.
• Presenting mobile planetarium shows in primary schools around Manchester and Cheshire (2004-05).
• Presenting astronomy to children aged 4 to 11 years old in UK schools (2004-05).
• Guest speaker at a 'Citizenship Day'. Presenting interactive school classes on the benefits of choosing astronomy as a career (2005).
• `Ask an Astronomer' project at Jodrell Bank Observatory, making presentations to a group of 50 public visitors (2004).
  

Computing expertise

• Proficient in the Mac OSX, SunOS/Solaris (UNIX) and Linux operating systems.
• Extensive experience of using scientific languages FORTRAN and C, scripting in csh and python, use of GLISH and SCHED for telescope scheduling.
  
• Proficient in Windows OS computing including use of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Illustrator etc. to produce high-quality publicity documents.
  
• Web Design: I was webmaster for the JIVE and EVN websites and for the Jodrell Bank Observatory spectral line and maser group websites. I continue to maintain my own web pages and recently created the University of Sydney's Astrophysical Maser Group webpages.
  
• Extensive experience calibrating and reducing continuum and spectral line single-dish and interferometric radio data with AIPS, ASAP and MIRIAD.
• Experience operating the Parkes 64m, Effelsberg 100m, Arecibo 305m radio telescopes and the Australia Telescope Compact Array.
  
• Data reduction for MERLIN, EVN, Parkes, Effelsberg, ATCA and VLBA.
  
  

Educational Publications

I wrote a chapter on A-level Mechanics for Examstutor.com, an interactive online resource for students and teachers of A-level Physics. The site is subscribed to by hundreds schools, colleges, individual students, teachers, and lecturers throughout the UK and overseas. The unit was published online in September 2003.

Academic Publications

Harvey-Smith, Lisa; Gaensler, Bryan M.; Ng, C.-Y.; Green, Anne J. (2009) "Spectropolarimetry of supernova remnant G296.5 + 10.0", Cosmic Magnetic Fields: From Planets, to Stars and Galaxies, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 259, p. 141-144.

Gaensler, Bryan M.; Kronberg, P. P.; Tanna, A.; Harvey-Smith, L. (2009) "Probing Cosmic Magnetic Fields Over Ten Billion Years", AAS Meeting #213, #482.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.450.

Harvey-Smith, L., Soria-Ruiz, R. (2008) "European VLBI Network observations of 6.7-GHz methanol masers in a candidate circumstellar disc", MNRAS, 391, 1273.

Harvey-Smith, L., Soria-Ruiz, R., Duarte-Cabral, A., Cohen, R.J. (2008) First images of 6.7-GHz methanol masers in DR21(OH) and DR21(OH)N, MNRAS, 384, 719.

Harvey-Smith, L., Soria-Ruiz, R., Richards, A.M.S., Cohen, R.J. (2007) Polarization of 6.0-GHz OH masers in W3(OH). Proceedings of Astrophysical masers and their environments, IAU Symposium 242, W. Baan & J. Chapman (Eds.) p156.

Harvey-Smith, L., Soria-Ruiz, R., Duarte-Cabral, A., Cohen, R.J. (2007) Discovery of polarized 6.7-GHz methanol masers in DR21/W75. Proceedings of Astrophysical masers and their environments, IAU Symposium 242, W. Baan & J. Chapman (Eds.) p154.

Harvey-Smith, L., Cohen, R.J. (2006) Discovery of large-scale methanol and hydroxyl maser filaments in W3(OH) Monthly Noticeas of the Royal Astronomical Society, 371, 1550

Vlemmings, W.H.T., Harvey-Smith, L., Cohen, R.J. (2006) Methanol maser polarization in W3(OH), Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 371, L26.

Harvey-Smith, L., Vlemmings, W.H.T., Cohen, R.J. (2006) The role of magnetic fields in massive star formation, Proceedings of the 8th European VLBI Network Symposium, Torun, Poland. Proceedings of Science, p.37.

Bourke, Stephen, van Langevelde, H. J., Harvey-Smith, L., Golden, A. (2006) Analysing very large datasets with ParselTongue, Proceedings of the 8th European VLBI Network Symposium. September 26-29, 2006, Torun, Poland, p.66

Harvey-Smith, L., Cohen, R.J. (2006) Discovery of large-scale masers in W3(OH), Proceedings of triggered star-formation in a turbulent interstellar medium, IAU Symposium 237, 128

Harvey-Smith, L., Cohen, R.J., (2005) A MERLIN survey of 4.7-GHz excited OH masers in star-forming regions, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 356, 637

Harvey-Smith, L., Cohen, R.J., (2004) A large-scale OH filament in W3(OH), Proceedings of the 7th European VLBI Network Symposium, Bachiller, R., Colomer, F., Desmurs, J.F., de Vincente, P., (eds.), October 12-15th 2004, Toledo, Spain

Selected talks, posters and conferences

Methanol 6.7-GHz masers in a candidate circumstellar disc, AO Colloquium, Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico November 2008.

Spectropolarimetry of SNR G296.5+10.0, Poster Talk, IAU Symposium 259, Cosmic Magnetic Fields: From Planets, to Stars and Galaxies. Tenerife, November 2008.

Methanol masers in a massive circumstellar disk, RAL Seminar, Radio Astronomy Laboartory, University of California at Berkeley, July 2008.

Massive Stars: Birth and Life, Lecture for the Cosmology Distinction Course, Collaroy NSW, June 2008.

Investigating the candidate circumstellar disk in DR21(OH)N, Astronomy Seminar, The University of Tasmania, March 2008.

Glowing Gas Giant Guzzles Grog, Institute of Astronomy Seminar, The University of Sydney, March 2008.

Astrophysical masers, Dwingeloo Summer Student Lecture Series 2007, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands.

Poster: Linear polarization of 6.0-GHz OH masers in W3(OH) IAU Symposium 242 Astrophysical masers and their environments. Alice Springs, Australia, March 12th-16th 2007.

Poster: Discovery of polarized 6.7-GHz methanol masers in DR21/W75 IAU Symposium 242 Astrophysical masers and their environments. Alice Springs, Australia, March 12th-16th 2007.

Masers in star-forming regions, ESTRELA workshop, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands, January 16th 2007.

Methanol Polarization in W3(OH) 8th European VLBI Network Symposium. Torun, Poland 26th-29th September 2006

Poster: Extended OH and methanol masers in W3(OH) IAU Symposium 237 - Triggered Star Formation in a Turbulent Interstellar Medium. IAU XXVI General Assembly, Prague, Czech Republic, August 2006.

Astrophysical Masers ASTRON/JIVE Summer Student Lecture Series, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands, August 2006

Finding the missing methanol masers in W3(OH) Nederlandse Astronomenconferentie 2006. Ameland, The Netherlands, 10th-12th May 2006.

First methanol maps with the upgraded MERLIN. Invited contribution at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting. University of Leicester, United Kingdom, April 2006.

Conference: Annual Meeting of the Nederlandse Astronomenclub Planets around other stars: scientific questions and methods and means for finding answers, Utrecht, The Netherlands, January 2006

OH and methanol maser filaments in W3(OH) ASTRON/JIVE Colloquium, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands, November 2005.

Extended Masers: Tracing the large-scale structure of W3(OH) RAS/Astrosurf Young Researchers Meeting- Astrochemistry, University College London, United Kingdom, 19th September 2005.

Masers as a probe of massive star formation Invited Talk, Astrophysics Group, University of Manchester (formerly UMIST), United Kingdom, May 2005.

Masers in the ISM: The Milky Way and Beyond RAS National Astronomy Meeting, Birmingham, United Kingdom, April 2005.

A large-scale OH maser filament in W3(OH) Ninth European VLBI Network Symposium, Toledo, Spain 2004.

A large-scale OH maser filament in W3(OH) Jodrell Bank Internal Symposium, United Kingdom, 2004.

Conference: Ninth Synthesis Imaging Summer School, Socorro, New Mexico, United States, 2004.

OH and methanol maser coincidence studies in SFRs Journal Club, Jodrell Bank Observatory, United Kingdom, May 2004.

Megamasers Frontiers of astrophysics introductory lecture, University of Manchester, United Kingdom, September 2003.

Multi-transitional coincidence studies of OH masers in star-forming regions. XXXIII Young European Radio Astronomer's Conference, Bonn, Germany, September 2003.

Methanol Masers in star-forming regions Jodrell Bank Observatory internal seminar. United Kingdom, January 2003.