I'm an ARC Professorial Fellow based within the Department of Astrophysics at the University of New South Wales. My group's research is centred on the detection and study of small, cool things - exoplanets and brown dwarfs - using a variety of observing techniques, including "Doppler Wobble" searches for planets to Sun-like stars and "Direct" detection searches in nearby star clusters.


Current research projects include: the search for gas-giant and terrestrial-mass exoplanets as a member of the Anglo-Australian Planet Search team; surveys to detect unbound (ie. free-floating) planets in young nearby star clusters using methane imaging; imaging planets orbiting nearby stars with the Gemini NICI instrument; development work towards a multi-object planet search facility for the Anglo-Australian Telescope.


Prospective PhD students from UNSW and elsewhere interested in working in exoplanetary science are encouraged to contact me to discuss possible research projects. I have funds to provide top-up support of $6000 per annum for PhD students with APAs.


UNSW Physics Honours students can also undertake research projects in our group - details on projects currently on offer can be found to here.






Contact details

  1. Prof. Chris Tinney

  2. Dept of Astrophysics

  3. School of Physics

  4. University of NSW. 2052

  5. Australia

  6. Ph: +61 2 9385 5168

  7. Fax: +61 2 9385 6060

  8. cgt -at- phys.unsw.edu.au


  10. UNSW Astrophysics

  11. UNSW Physics





 

Professor Chris Tinney

UNSW "Doppler & Direct" Planet Search Group

News

  1. Bullet8 July 08 - Doppler & Direct top-up scholarships of $6000 per annum are available for PhD students

  2. Bullet28 May 08 - Honours Projects - 2008 Sem 2

  3. BulletApril 08 - New team member Rob Wittenmyer arrives from U.Texas to take up a post-doctoral fellowship.

  4. BulletFeb 08 - Stephen Parker begins a PhD on the search for Unbound Planets using methane imaging in February.

  5. Bullet13 Dec 07 - Honours student Stephen Parker, who worked on the methane imaging of known T-dwarfs to search for companions, has been awarded first class honours and an Australian Postgraduate Award. Congratulations Stephen!

  6. Bullet29 Jun 07 - The Post-doctoral Fellowship in Astrophysics advertised in Jun 2007 has been filled.

  7. Bullet25 June 07 - Detailed analysis of AAO CCD non-linearity.


Major Projects

  1. BulletAnglo-Australian Planet Search - searching 240 nearby stars for gas-giant and SuperEarth exoplanets.

  2. BulletDirect detection of Unbound Planets in nearby star clusters.

  3. BulletPlanet Search with Gemini NICI - a 50n Gemini program to image nearby stars in a search for exoplanets.

  4. BulletParallax measurements for T-type brown dwarfs.


The UNSW Doppler & Direct Team

  1. BulletDr Rob Wittenmyer (Postdoctoral Fellow)

  2. BulletMr Stephen Parker (PhD Student)


PhD and Honours Students

  1. BulletPhD Projects

  2. BulletHonours Projects for 2008


General Research Interests

  1. BulletExtra-solar planets

  2. BulletBrown dwarfs

  3. BulletCCD/IR array astrometry

  4. BulletMethane infrared imaging

  5. BulletWide-field surveys

  6. BulletGalaxy proper motions


General Instrumentation Interests

  1. BulletDoppler velocities at m/s precision

  2. BulletInfrared precision velocities

  3. BulletInfrared imaging and spectroscopy

  4. BulletOptical Imaging and spectroscopy

  5. BulletEchelle spectroscopy

  6. BulletTuneable Filter imaging

  7. BulletCharge Shuffling

  8. BulletSapphire Grisms


Publications (NASA ADS listing)

  1. BulletReferreed

  2. BulletAll


Miscellaneous links and stuff

  1. BulletSeen something weird in the sky? Want to know what's happening this month? Then visit Sydney Observatory's very cool blog.

  2. BulletDetailed analysis of AAO CCD non-linearity released.

  3. BulletCorrecting the SOFI shade

  4. BulletBefore moving to UNSW I was at the AAO for 12 years & was responsible at various times for IRIS2, WFI, UCLES, and the EEV & MITLL CCDs.



This page last updated 27 May 2008