Dr. Michael Stamatikos

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

tel: 301-286-5947
fax: 301-286-1684
e-mail: michael @ milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov

Present Position

NASA Postdoctoral Fellow
Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) Team Scientist
Swift Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) Explorer Mission

Brief Bio

NASA Postdoctoral Fellow, Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD USA) April 2006 - Present.
Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) team scientist for the Swift gamma-ray burst (GRB) explorer mission.

Consultant, IceCube, University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI USA) January 2006 - February 2006.

Research Intern, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI USA) August 2002 - December 2005.
Development of theoretical modeling and analysis techniques for correlated neutrino emission from individual GRBs using BATSE (GRB 980703a) and HETE-II (GRB 030329) data as case studies, based upon their discrete set of observed electromagnetic parameters with Dr. Francis Halzen.

Lecturer, Department of Physics, State University of New York at Buffalo (Buffalo, NY USA) Fall 2001 - Summer 2002.
Taught PHY 101/102 (Algebra-based mrchanics/electromagnetism, optics, waves and modern physics) and PHY 207 (calculus-based waves, optics and modern physics).

Research Intern, Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH USA) Summer 2001.
Studied the physics associated with cryogenic thin film superconducting technology using the Z-sensitive Ionization-Photon (ZIP), germanium and silicon detectors featured in CDMS II with Dr. Danial Akerib.

Teaching Assistant, Department of Physics, State University of New York at Buffalo (Buffalo, NY USA), Fall 1999 - Spring 2002.
Taught PHY 102 (Algebra-based electromagnetism, optics, waves and modern physics), PHY 107/108 (calculus-based mechanics/electromagnetism), PHY 117/118 (Honors calculus-based mechanics/electromagnetism), PHY 121/122 (Astronomy I & II), PHY 151 (algebra-based mechanics lab) and PHY 158 (calculus-based mechanics lab).

Lecturer, Department of Physics, Buffalo State College (Buffalo, NY USA), Fall 1999 - Summer 2000.
Taught PHY 107 (Algebra-based Newtonian mechanics), PHY 112 (Calculus-based classical electromagnetism) and consulted on Constructing Physics Understanding (CPU) Workshop (professional development for elementary science teachers).

Faculty, Science Department, Frontier Central High School (Hamburg, NY USA) September 1998 - June 1999.
Taught Advanced Placement (AP) Physics Course C (Mechanics), Regents Physics and Regents Competency Test (RCT) Science Review.

Educational Background

Ph.D., Physics, State University of New York at Buffalo, February 2006.

M.S., Physics, State University of New York at Buffalo, June 2003.

B.A., Physics (Major), Teaching Education (Minor), State University of New York at Buffalo, June 1998.

Research Interests

My research interests are described by an over arching theme of conducting a synergistic research program whose primary objective encompasses probing discrete gamma-ray burst (GRB) astrophysics via a broad-band, multi-messenger paradigm, in the context of GRB prompt and afterglow emission, using instruments such as IceCube, Swift-(BAT/XRT/UVOT) and GLAST-(LAT/GBM).

Current Projects

My Swift Team activities at NASA-GSFC have included:

1. Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) Burst Scientist (BBS) Duty: Serving on periodic shifts providing real-time response to individual Swift-BAT GRB triggers for the international scientific community. Subsequent data analysis results in co-authored distribution of Astronomer's Telegrams (ATELs), GCN Observation Reports and GCN Circular email alerts to multi-wavelength international observatories.

2. Burst Advocate (BA) Duty: Serving on periodic shifts providing a leadership role in the analysis of Swift GRBs as observed by BAT, XRT and UVOT instruments onboard Swift. Duties included (i) daily follow-up reports at science planning teleconferences for the advisement of observational strategy, (ii) serving as the principal Swift liaison for a given burst to the international community, and (iii) summarizing all Swift observations via coauthored submissions to the GCN report archive.

3. BAT Survey Analysis Management: Providing a dynamic and real-time venue for reporting the overall progress of the construction and maintenance of the Swift BAT Survey catalog. Duties include managing a third party online data base known as dabble DB (http://www.dabbledb.com/).

My current research activities include:

1. Developing Synergy Swift/GLAST Science efforts: Serving as science principal investigator (PI) on a GLAST GI Cycle I proposal to (i) perform joint correlative multi-wavelength spectral analysis for GRBs simultaneously observed by Swift-(BAT/XRT/UVOT) and GLAST-(GBM/LAT), providing broad-band spectral parameters of the prompt emission to the GRB community. Serving as Co-Investigator on two other proposals to (ii) perform correlated Swift-XRT/UVOT and GLAST-LAT observations and (iii) interpret the theoretical astrophysics based upon those joint observations.

2. Recalibration of the Lag-luminosity Relation: Subsets of Swift GRBs with known spectroscopic redshift are being used to verify and, if necessary, recalibrate the lag-luminosity relation developed from BATSE GRBs. The results will be used (i) to estimate redshifts for GRBs without afterglows or host galaxy associations, (ii) as a class discriminator between short and long GRBs and (iii) to test the validity of other redshift estimator relations (iv) in conjunction with other BAT observables to develop a selection optimized for high z GRB identification (v) to help construct neutrino energy spectra for discrete GRB parameters.

Selected Publications

A study of the prompt and afterglow emission of the Short GRB 061201, Stratta, G., D'Avanzo, P., Piranomonte, S., Cutini, S., Preger, B., Perri, M., Conciatore, M. L., Covino, S., Stella, L., Guetta, D., Marshall, F. E., Holland, S. T., Stamatikos, M., Guidorzi, C., Mangano, V., Antonelli, L. A., Burrows, D., Campana, S., Capalbi, M., Chincarini, G., Cusumano, G., D'Elia, V., Evans, P. A., Fiore, F., Fugazza, D., Giommi, P., Osborne, J. P., La Parola, V., Mineo, T., Moretti, A., Page, K. L., Romano, P. \& Tagliaferri, G., accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (2007). E-print: arXiv:0708.3553. ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007arXiv0708.3553S.

The First Swift BAT Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog, Sakamoto, T., Barthelmy, S. D., Barbier, L., Cummings, J. R., Fenimore, E. E., Gehrels, N., Hullinger, D., Krimm, H. A., Markwardt, C. B., Palmer, D. M., Parsons, A. M., Sato, G., Stamatikos, M., Tueller, J., Ukwatta, T. N., & Zhang, B., accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement (2007). E-print: arXiv:0707.4626, ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007arXiv0707.4626S.

Search for Neutrino-induced Cascades from Gamma-Ray Bursts with AMANDA, Achterberg, A., et al., The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 664, Issue 1, pp. 397-410 (2007). E-print: arXiv:astro-ph/0702265, ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007ApJ...664..397A.

GRB 061121: Broadband Spectral Evolution through the Prompt and Afterglow Phases of a Bright Burst, Page, K.L., Willingale, R., Osborne, J. P., Zhang, B., Godet, O., Marshall, F. E., Melandri, A., Norris, J. P., O'Brien, P. T., Pal'shin, V., Rol, E., Romano, P., Starling, R. L. C., Schady, P., Yost, S. A., Barthelmy, S. D., Beardmore, A. P., Cusumano, G., Burrows, D. N., De Pasquale, M., Ehle, M., Evans, P. A., Gehrels, N., Goad, M. R., Golenetskii, S., Guidorzi, C., Mundell, C., Page, M. J., Ricker, G., Sakamoto, T., Schaefer, B. E., Stamatikos, M., Troja, E., Ulanov, M., Yuan, F., Ziaeepour, H., The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 663, Issue 2, pp. 1125-1138 (2007). E-print: arXiv:0704.1609 [astro-ph], ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007ApJ...663.1125P.

A new gamma-ray burst classification scheme from GRB 060614, Gehrels, N., Norris, J. P., Barthelmy, S. D., Granot, J., Kaneko, Y., Kouveliotou, C., Markwardt, C. B., Meszaros, P., Nakar, E., Nousek, J. A., O'Brien, P. T., Page, M., Palmer, D. M., Parsons, A. M., Roming, P. W. A., Sakamoto, T., Sarazin, C. L., Schady, P., Stamatikos, M., Woosley, S. E., Nature, Volume 444, Issue 7122, pp. 1044-1046 (2006). E-Print: astro-ph/0610635, ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006astro.ph.10635G.

Temporal Profiles and Spectral Lags of XRF 060218, Liang, E.-W., Zhang, B.-B., Stamatikos, M., Zhang, B., Norris, J., Gehrels, N., Zhang, J., & Dai, Z.~G., The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 653, Issue 2, pp. L81-L84 (2006). E-print: arXiv:astro-ph/0610956, ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006ApJ...653L..81L.

Coincident GRB neutrino flux predictions: Implications for experimental UHE neutrino physics, Becker, J.K., Stamatikos, M., Halzen, F., & Rhode, W., Astroparticle Physics, Volume 25, Issue 2, pp. 118-128 (2006). E-print: arXiv:astro-ph/0511785, ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006APh....25..118B.

Measurement of the cosmic ray composition at the knee with the SPASE-2/AMANDA-B10 detectors, Ahrens, J., et al., Astroparticle Physics, Volume 21, Issue 6, pp. 565-581 (2004). ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004APh....21..565A.

Sensitivity of the IceCube detector to astrophysical sources of high energy muon neutrinos, Ahrens, J., et al., Astroparticle Physics, Volume 20, Issue 5, pp. 507-532 (2004). E-Print: astro-ph/0305196, ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004APh....20..507A.

A new search paradigm for correlated neutrino emission from discrete GRBs using Antarctic Cherenkov telescopes in the Swift era, Stamatikos, M. and Band, D.L., American Institute of Physics Conference Proceedings, Volume 836, pp. 599-604 (2006). E-print: astro-ph/0602481, ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006AIPC..836..599S.

Probing for leptonic signatures from GRB030329 with AMANDA-II, Stamatikos, M., Kurtzweil, J. and Clarke, M.J., Proceedings of 29th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2005), Pune, India, 3-11 Aug 2005. (2005). E-print: astro-ph/0510336, ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005ICRC....4..471S.

Method for detecting neutrinos from internal shocks in GRB fireballs with AMANDA, Stamatikos, M., et al., American Institute of Physics Conference Proceedings, Volume 727, pp. 146-149 (2004). ADS URL: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004AIPC..727..146S.

Publications at the ADS website.