Meet Kathryn Gordon
Assistant Professor, Physics
Phone: (813) 257-3832
Email: kgordon@ut.edu
Address: 401 W. Kennedy Blvd. Tampa, FL 33606
Mailbox: U
Building:
GHS
Room: 241
Education
2005 Guilford College, B.S.
2007 University of Arkansas, M.S.
2018 Georgia State University, Ph.D.
Courses Taught
General Physics I, General Physics I Laboratory
Career Specialties
Gordon is an observational astronomer specializing in optical interferometry and massive stars. She is interested in stellar evolution and stellar structure and applying the interferometric technique to answer a wide variety of questions about stars including hot, massive stars, AGB stars and exoplanet host stars.
Professional and Community Activities
Gordon's research makes use of the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array at the Mt. Wilson Observatory in California. The CHARA Array is an optical interferometer composed of six, 1-meter telescopes arranged in a Y-shape configuration. Combinations of the telescopes allow for 15 different usable baselines ranging in length from 34 meters to 331 meters. She studies O and B type stars, the most massive and hottest types of stars, to obtain directly determined measurements for stellar angular size and derived effective temperatures. These measurements allow us to place our stars on an observational H-R diagram and test stellar atmospheric and evolutionary models.
Gordon's current goal is to expand the original sample to learn more about the fundamental properties of massive stars. She is also working on a sub sample of B-type supergiant stars to determine how large a role stellar winds play in the modeling of stellar atmospheres for these stars. Gordon plans to conduct a low resolution optical spectroscopy campaign for the massive stars that she has studied or will study with interferometry. Gordon is really interested in the technique of optical interferometry in general and would welcome collaborations to investigate questions about the structure and properties of many types of stars.
Gordon is a member of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). She regularly attends CHARA Science meetings, AAS meetings and IAU symposia.
Recent publications:
Gordon, K. D., Gies, D. R., Schaefer, G. H., Huber, D., & Ireland, M. 2019, ApJ, 873, 91
Gordon, K. D., Gies, D. R., Schaefer, G. H., et al. 2018, ApJ, 869, 37
Honors and Awards
2020, AAS International Travel Grant, IAU 361: Massive Stars Near and Far (postponed due to COVID-19)
2020, IAU Travel Grant, IAU 361: Massive Stars Near and Far (postponed due to COVID-19)
2013, IAU Travel Grant, IAU 307: New Windows on Massive Stars
2013-2018, NASA Georgia Space Grant Fellowship, Georgia State University