Joanne (Joe) E Hill

Astrophysics Science Division
NASA/GSFC
Code 662, X-ray Polarimetry Lab
Greenbelt, MD 20771

tel: 301 286-0572
fax: 301 286-1684
e-mail: jhill @ milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov

Present Position

USRA Research Scientist
Development of an X-ray Polarimeter
Supporting the Swift X-ray Telescope operations

Brief Bio

2005-Present: USRA Research Scientist at NASA/GSFC
Research and Development of an X-ray Polarimeter for the Advanced X-ray Polarimeter (AXP) and continuing support of the Swift X-ray Telescope operations and data analysis.
1998-2005: Research Associate at Penn State University
Instrument Scientist and Deputy XRT Lead for the X-ray Telescope (XRT) on the NASA MIDEX mission Swift, launched in November 2004.

Educational Background

1995-1998: PhD in X-ray Astronomy, University of Leicester, UK: The Charge Coupled Device as an X-ray Polarimeter.
1992-1995: BSc. Physics with Space Science and Technology, University of Leicester, UK.

Research Interests

Gamma-ray Bursts
X-ray Polarimetry
Manned Space Exploration

Current Projects

There are three elements to my research at GSFC; instrument development, GRB data analysis and Swift XRT operations. I am currently working with the X-ray polarimetry group in the laboratory, to design an imaging X-ray polarimeter for the Advanced X-ray Polarimeter. We are also developing an innovative design, which decouples the polarisation sensitivity from the quantum efficiency of the detector.
I continue to advise and provide support for the Swift XRT on-orbit operations. The XRT suffered the loss of the controlled cooling system 10 days after launch; in order to continue to obtain good science with an unregulated temperature, my responsibilities include coordinating configuration changes and organising the necessary upgrades to the onboard software. In addition, I have devised analysis techniques to mitigate the temperature effects and bright Earth effects in the data

Selected Publications

J.E. Hill et al., 'GRB 050117: Simultaneous Gamma-ray and X-ray Observations with the Swift Satellite', The Astrophysical Journal, in press

J.E. Hill et al., 'The Unique Observing Capabilities of the Swift X-ray Telescope', Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 5898, pp. 313-328 (2005).

Kennea, Jamie A.; Burrows, D. N.; Wells, A.; Pagani, C.; Hill, J. E.; Racusin, J. L.; Morris, D.; Hunsberger, S.; Abbey, A. F.; Beardmore, A.; Campana, S.; Chester, M.; Chincarini, G.; Cusumano, G.; Gehrels, N.; Godet, O.; Mineo, T.; La Parola, V.; Mangano, V.; Moretti, A.; Nousek, J.; Osborne, J.; Page, K.; Perri, M.; Tagliaferri, G.; Tamburelli, F., 'Controlling the Swift XRT CCD Temperature via Passive Cooling', Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 5898, pp. 329-339 (2005).

D. N. Burrows, J. E. Hill, J. A. Nousek, J. A. Kennea, A. Wells, J. P. Osborne, A. F. Abbey, A. Beardmore, K. Mukerjee, A.D.T. Short, G. Chincarini, S. Campana, O. Citterio, A. Moretti, C. Pagani, G. Tagliaferri, P. Giommi, M. Capalbi, F. Tamburelli, L. Angelini, G. Cusumano, H. W. Br¨auninger, W. Burkert, G. D. Hartner, 'The Swift X-ray Telescope', Space Science Reviews, 120, 165 (2005)

N. Gehrels, C.L. Sarazin, P.T. O'Brien, B. Zhang, L. Barbier, S.D. Barthelmy, A. Blustin, D.N. Burrows, J. Cannizzo, J.R. Cummings, M. Goad, S.T. Holland, C.P. Hurkett, J.A. Kennea, A. Levan, C.B. Markwardt, K. O. Mason, P. Meszaros, M. Page, D.M. Palmer, E. Rol, T. Sakamoto, R. Willingale, L. Angelini, A. Beardmore, P.T. Boyd, A. Breeveld, S. Campana, M.M. Chester, G. Chincarini, L.R. Cominsky, G. Cusumano, M. de Pasquale, E.E. Fenimore, P. Giommi, C. Gronwall, D. Grupe, J.E. Hill, D. Hinshaw, J. Hjorth, D. Hullinger,, K.C. Hurley, S. Klose, S. Kobayashi, C. Kouveliotou, H.A. Krimm, V. Mangano, F.E. Marshall, K. McGowan, A, Moretti, R.F. Mushotzky, K. Nakazawa, J.P. Norris, J.A. Nousek, J.P. Osborne, K. Page, A.M. Parsons, S. Patel, M. Perri, T. Poole, P. Romano, P.W.A. Roming, S. Rosen, G. Sato, P. Schady, A.P. Smale, J. Sollerman, R. Starling, M. Still, M. Suzuki, G. Tagliaferri, T. Takahashi, M. Tashiro, J. Tueller, A.A. Wells, N.E. White, & R.A.M.J. Wijers, 'A short gamma-ray burst apparently associated with an elliptical galaxy at redshift z = 0.225', Nature, Volume 437, Issue 7060, pp. 851-854 (2005)

Burrows, D. N.; Hill, J. E.; Chincarini, G.; Tagliaferri, G.; Campana, S.; Moretti, A.; Romano, P.; Malesani, D.; Racusin, J. L.; Kobayashi, S.; Zhang, B.; Mészáros, P.; O'Brien, P. T.; Willingale, R.; Osborne, J. P.; Cusumano, G.; Giommi, P.; Angelini, L.; Abbey, A. F.; Antonelli, L. A.; Beardmore, A. P.; Capalbi, M.; Covino, S.; D'Avanzo, P.; Goad, M. R.; Kennea, J. A.; Morris, D. C.; Pagani, C.; Page, K. L.; Stella, L.; Nousek, J. A.; Wells, A. A.; Gehrels, N., 'Swift X-Ray Telescope and Very Large Telescope Observations of the Afterglow of GRB 041223', The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 622, Issue 2, pp. L85-L88

Hill, J. E.; Burrows, D. N.; Nousek, J. A.; Abbey, A. F.; Ambrosi, R. M.; Bräuninger, H. W.; Burkert, W.; Campana, S.; Cheruvu, C.; Cusumano, G.; Freyberg, M. J.; Hartner, G. D.; Klar, R.; Mangels, C.; Moretti, A.; Mori, K.; Morris, D. C.; Short, A. D. T.; Tagliaferri, G.; Watson, D. J.; Wood, P.; Wells, Alan A., 'Readout modes and automated operation of the Swift X-ray Telescope', Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 5165, pp. 217-231 (2004)

Hill, J E.; Cheruvu, C; Abbey, A. F.; Ambrosi, R. M.; Burrows, D. N.; Short, A. T.; Wells, A. A.; Nousek, J. A., 'An Algorithm for locating PSF-like events and computing the centroid in x-ray images', Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 4851, pp. 1347-1355 (2003)

Ambrosi, R. M.; Hutchinson, I. B.; Hill, J.; Cheruvu, C.; Abbey, A. F.; Short, A. D. T., 'The impact of the in-orbit background and the X-ray source intensity on the centroiding accuracy of the Swift X-ray telescope', Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, Volume 493, Issue 1-2, p. 67-78.

Hill, J. E.; Zugger, M.l E.; Shoemaker, J.; Witherite, M. E.; Koch, T. S.; Chou, L. L.; Case, T.; Burrows, D. N., 'Laboratory x-ray CCD camera electronics: a test bed for the Swift X-Ray Telescope', Proc. SPIE Vol. 4140, p. 87-98 (2000)

Hill, J. E.; Lewis, K. T.; Foster, R. F.; Bautz, M. W.; Brown, S. K.; Roming, P. W.; Hornschemeier, A. E.; Burrows, D. N.; Garmire, G. P., 'Simulation of the flight experience of the ACIS CCDs on the Chandra X-ray Observatory', Proc. SPIE Vol. 4012, p. 402-413 (2000)

Kahn, S. M.; Paerels, F. B.; Peterson, J. R.; Rasmussen, A. P.; Schattenburg, M. L.; Ricker, G. R.; Bautz, M. W.; Doty, J. P.; Prigozhin, G. Y.; Nousek, J. A.; Burrows, D. N.; Hill, J. E.; Cash, W. C., 'Large-area reflection grating spectrometer for the Constellation-X mission', Proc. SPIE Vol. 3765, p. 94-103 (1999)

Joanne E. Hill, 'The Charge Coupled Device as an X-ray Polarimeter', Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester (1999)

A. P. Martin, A. N. Brunton, G. W. Fraser, A. D. Holland, A. Keay, J. Hill, N. Nelms, I. C. E. Turcu, R. Allott, N. Lisi, N. Spencer, 'Imaging X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy using microchannel plate (MCP) relay Optics', X-Ray Spectrom, 1999, 28, 64-70

Hill, J. E.; Holland, A. D.; Castelli, C. M.; Short, A. D.; Turner, M. J.; Burt, D., 'Measurement of x-ray polarization with small-pixel charge-coupled devices', Proc. SPIE Vol. 3114, p. 241-249 (1997)

Publications at the ADS website.