The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

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Nigel Atkins

Center for Astrophysics

Engineer

Nigel Atkins

natkins@cfa.harvard.edu

About

I am a Senior Engineer in the Radio & Geo-Astronomy Division and am responsible for the running of a millimeter-wave radio telescope here in Cambridge, MA as well as supporting instrumentation in a molecular physics laboratory. Prior to working in this position, I was part of the engineering team on the Ultraviolet CoronaGraph experiment which flew on the SOHO observatory that is/was a joint NASA/ESA venture. Before this excursion into the far UV, I was a senior engineer at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii responsible for the sub-mm wave heterodyne receivers, IF chain, and back-end.

Degree in Physics from Tufts University

Telescopes and Instruments

The 1.2 Meter Millimeter-Wave Telescope

Molecular clouds are dark, dense nebulas that are both home to and the raw materials for new stars. The 1.2 Meter Millimeter-Wave Telescope (MWT) at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is dedicated to mapping the locations of these clouds in the Milky Way, which reveals details about the structure of our home galaxy and its star-forming capabilities. This instrument and its twin in Chile revealed the existence of two spiral arms in the Milky Way, structures that were previously unknown.

Visit the MWT Website

The Submillimeter Array - Maunakea, HI

Located near the summit of Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawaii, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) is one of the flagship observatories of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. The observatory consists of eight radio dishes working together as one telescope, giving astronomers a window on a wide range of astronomical objects and phenomena: planets and comets in our own Solar System; the birth of stars and planets; and the supermassive black holes hidden at the centers of the Milky Way and other galaxies. The SMA is operated jointly by the CfA and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Visit the Submillimeter Array Website