Dr. Craig B. Markwardt

Astrophysics Science Division
NASA/GSFC
Code 661, Astroparticle Laboratory
Greenbelt, MD 20771

tel: 301-286-1506
fax: 301-286-1684
e-mail: Craig.Markwardt_AT_nasa.gov

Present Position

BAT Team Scientist, Swift Project
PCA Team Scientist, RXTE Project
Research Associate, University of Maryland, CRESST

Brief Bio

Dr. Craig Markwardt has been a research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center since 1997. He first worked with Jean Swank of the RXTE PCA project, on the studies of X-ray binaries. He has studied millisecond X-ray pulsars, accreting black hole microquasars, and has performed long term monitoring of the galactic center with the PCA instrument. Since 2001, he as also worked on the development and flight of the BAT instrument aboard the Swift gamma-ray burst mission. In addition to developing ground software for burst work, Markwardt has been using BAT survey data, both to continue X-ray binary work, and to search for faint active galactic nuclei.

Educational Background

Ph.D. Physics, August 1997,University of Wisconsin --- Madison
Professor Hakki Ögelman, advisor.
Thesis: ``The Wind Interaction Regions of the Vela Pulsar: a Pulsar Jet and Bow Shock Nebula''
B.S. Physics, June 1992, Stanford University

Research Interests

Scientific

Observational study of galactic neutron star and black hole systems;
X-ray spectroscopy and high frequency variability;
Long term x-ray monitoring of galactic transients;
Isolated pulsars, pulsar winds and pulsar wind nebulae.

Programmatic

Software development;
Swift BAT coded aperture analysis, including imaging, spectroscopy, and time series;
instrument calibration, including image alignment and response matrix development;
high frequency time series analysis;
RXTE PCA instrument background modeling.

Current Projects

RXTE PCA studies of millisecond X-ray pulsars

RXTE PCA monitoring of the galactic bulge (please see the PCA Bulge Monitoring page).

Production of RXTE PCA background models for the community. Please see the PCA Team Page for more information.

Swift BAT ground software.

Swift BAT survey analysis.

Pioneer 10 spacecraft tracking "anomaly."

Selected Publications

"The Swift/BAT High Latitude Survey: First Results,"
Markwardt, C. B., Tueller, J., Skinner, G. K., Gehrels, N., Barthelmy, S. D., Mushotzky, R. F.,
2005, ApJ Letters, 633, L77--L80
"Discovery of a Second Millisecond Accreting Pulsar: XTE J1751--305,"
Markwardt, C. B., Swank, J. H., Strohmayer, T. E., in 't Zand, J. J. M. \& Marshall, F. E.,
2002, ApJ Letters, 575, L21--L24

Publications at the ADS website.