The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

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Iouli Gordon

Center for Astrophysics

Physicist, Division Chair

Iouli Gordon

igordon@cfa.harvard.edu

About

I am the director of the HITRAN spectroscopic database project, and the majority of my research work concentrates on the maintenance and further development of this database. HITRAN and its sister database HITEMP are widely used in atmospheric and astrophysical applications, medicine, engineering, and many other fields. My research interests include a) laboratory and theoretical molecular spectroscopy of atmospheric and astrophysical interest; b) use of available spectroscopic information to construct databases that aid research in diverse areas of science and industry; c) development of the tools for validating the spectroscopic data and enhancing its accessibility. I also am an active advocate of open scientific data and open-source codes

University of Waterloo, Physics, PhD, 2005; University of Toronto, Physics, MSc, 2000; Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Engineering Physics, Diploma, 1999

Projects

HITRAN and HITEMP Database

Atomic and Molecular Physics

With techniques developed in quantum mechanics, molecular spectra can be modeled by a set of discrete fundamental parameters. The knowledge of these reference molecular spectroscopic parameters is essential to correctly characterize constituents of their environments, model their spectra and atmospheric conditions. Physicists at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian maintain the HIgh-resolution TRANsmission (HITRAN) and HIgh TEMPerature (HITEMP) databases of molecular spectral parameters, along with the HITRAN Application Programming Interface (HAPI) which also enables one to access the database archive and process the data.

Telescopes and Instruments

Giant Magellan Telescope

Is Earth unique, or are there other planets with life in the Milky Way? To answer this question and many others, astronomers need larger and more sensitive observatories than anything we currently have. For that reason, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is collaborating with a number of other institutions around the world to create the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), currently under construction in Chile. The GMT will consist of seven large mirrors acting in concert as one giant telescope 80 feet across. That large size provides an unprecedented view of the sky and the ability to detect the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres. Like NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the GMT will be a powerful tool across the field of astronomy, providing insights into the formation of planets, the structure of galaxies, and the evolution of the universe itself.

Visit the GMT Website

Spitzer Space Telescope

Infrared light is the key to studying a wide range of astronomical systems, including newborn stars and planets, dust in distant galaxies, and material swirling around black holes. The Spitzer Space Telescope was NASA’s orbiting infrared observatory, and part of NASA’s Great Observatories program, along with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists and engineers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian led the design, testing, and construction of the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC). The Spitzer Space Telescope was launched in 2003 and retired in 2020.

Visit the Spitzer Space Telescope IRAC Page

Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO)

Scientists study the atmospheres of many worlds with orbiting spacecraft, but Earth is the only planet where we can measure the effects of life — and of the negative impacts of civilization. When it is launched, NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) observatory will measure air quality in North America from a geostationary satellite, specifically tracking air pollution in unprecedented detail. The scientific instrument development is led by scientists and engineers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and NASA’s Langley Research Center.

Visit the TEMPO Website

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy)

Earth’s atmosphere protects us from harmful radiation, but it also blocks a lot of light useful for astronomy. For that reason, NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) built the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) to fly aboard a modified commercial aircraft capable of flying above 99% of the light-blocking atmosphere. SOFIA is a powerful, general-purpose infrared observatory used to study the birth of new stars, planetary nebulas and supernova remnants, the atmospheres of Solar System objects, and many more. The American portion of SOFIA management is handled by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), a private educational corporation consisting of over 100 institutions, including the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

Visit the SOFIA Website