David McDavid, Research Scientist Email: dam3ma@virginia.edu Phone: (434) 924-7494 Fax: (434) 924-3104 Office: 249 Astronomy Building Address:    UVa Department of Astronomy    PO Box 400325    Charlottesville VA 22904-4325

Curriculum Vitae B.S., Physics, Stanford University, 1972 M.A., Astronomy, University of Virginia, 1977 Teaching Associate, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1977-1993 Guest Observer, McDonald Observatory, 1984-1993 Ph.D., Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, 2001 Research Associate, University of Virginia, 2002-2006 Presently: Research Scientist, University of Virginia Webmaster, The Be Star Newsletter Research Interests Polarized Light Be Stars Instrumentation Courses Taught Astronomy 313: Observational Astronomy

I am part of the group responsible for maintaining the 1-m telescope and its instrumentation at the University's Fan Mountain Observatory. My favorite research interest is precision optical polarimetry of early emission line stars: massive hot stars that spin so rapidly they are practically flying apart, making their outer atmospheres unstable in very mysterious and unpredictable ways. For fun I enjoy playing the saxophone with a wacky assortment of Charlottesville rhythm 'n blues musicians.

Comparing the Sun and a rapidly rotating B-type star (Regulus), according to recent interferometry from CHARA.

Monte Carlo simulations of the limb polarization produced by electron scattering in the extended atmosphere of a rotationally distorted early-type star.

Work in Progress

Be Stars in the Open Cluster NGC 663

Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

The Polarization of Achernar

ASTR313 Class Observes Be Stars with FOBOS

The Upper Main Sequence of the Open Cluster NGC 2169

CN Abundances in the SMC Be Star NGC330-B12

Near Infrared Polarimetry with FanCam

Norfolk State University's Rapid Response Robotic Telescope

Favorite Science Quote

"We now find ourselves in the beautiful position of having developed a machine
so powerful that we can just stand back and pile up our profits."

    Melvin Schwartz, in Principles of Electrodynamics

Selected Recent Papers and Preprints Towards an understanding of the Of?p star HD 191612: optical spectroscopy Howarth, I.D. et al. 2007, MNRAS, 381, 433 Abstract A Study of pi Aquarii during a Quasi-normal Star Phase: Refined Fundamental Parameters and Evidence for Binarity Bjorkman, K.S., Miroshnichenko, A.S., McDavid, D., and Pogrosheva, T.M. 2002, ApJ, 573, 812 Abstract On the polarimetric variability of bright O-type stars Clarke, D., McDavid, D., Smith, R.A., and Henrichs, H.F. 2002, A&A, 383, 580 Abstract A Useful Approximation for Computing the Continuum Polarization of Be Stars McDavid, David 2001, ApJ, 553, 1027 Abstract A Search for Intrinsic Polarization in O Stars with Variable Winds McDavid, David 2000, AJ, 119, 352 Abstract Multicolor Polarimetry of Selected Be Stars: 1995-1998 McDavid, David 1999, PASP, 111, 494 Abstract More publications...

Last modified July 3, 2008 Copyright © 1996-2004 University of Virginia Department of Astronomy. All rights reserved. Maintained by David McDavid