Rob Knop : Physics & Astronomy
- BS : Harvey Mudd College, Physics, 1990
- PhD : Caltech, Physics, 1997; thesis title: Spatially Resolved Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Seyfert Galaxies
- Post-doc : LBNL, Supernova Cosmology Project, 1996-2001
- Assistant Professor of Physics & Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, 2001-2007
As my vital statistics above show, I spent many years studying Physics & Astronomy, spent five years working with the Supernova Cosmology Project at LBNL, and six years as a professor at Vanderbilt University. After working for just under two years as a computer engineer at Linden Lab, I now describe myself as an "itinerant astrophysicist and computer engineer." I'm currently focusing on MICA and MODEST, doing contract work associated with astrophysics research in virtual worlds.
I was also a science blogger (focusing on astronomy) of some minor recognition for some time, until I recently (October 2007) decided to take an indefinite break from doing that. I still do touch on some of these topics at my current blog.
Every other Saturday morning, I give a public-outreach astronomy lecture in Second Life, in association with MICA, the Meta-Institute of Computational Astronomy. You can find information about upcoming and previous talks in this series on the Popular Talks page of the MICA website.