Dr. F. Scott Porter

Present Position

Astrophysicist, X-ray Astronomy Branch, Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, NASA/GSFC

Research Area

Laboratory X-ray astrophysics
Advanced Instrument development for X-ray astrophysics
Diffuse soft x-ray background
The Astro-E2 Observatory
The XQC sounding rocket experiment

Education

Doctor of Philosophy
Brown University, Providence, RI, 1993
Major: Physics
Thesis: Particle Detection in Superfluid Helium
Advisor: Professor Humphrey Maris
Master of Science
Brown University, Providence, RI, 1989
Major: Physics
Bachelor of Science with Distinction and Honors
Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA, 1987
Major: Physics
Thesis: Construction of a High Resolution AC Calorimeter and the Synthesis of K0.3MnO3 alias "Blue Bronze"
Advisor: Professor Jim Eckert

Previous Positions

1995-1998 -- Research Associate, Astronomy Department, Univ. of Maryland, College Park.
1993-1995 -- ONR Postdoctoral Fellow, Naval Research Laboratory.
1988-1993 -- Research Assistant, Brown University.
1991-1994 -- Consultant, Silver Oak Systems.
1987-1988 -- Teaching Assistant, Brown University.
1985-1987 -- Software Engineer, Innosoft Inc.
Summer 1985-1987 -- Research Engineer, SRI International.
Summer 1984 -- Programmer, Apple Computer Inc.

GSFC Projects

Laboratory X-ray Astrophysics
XRS X-Ray Spectrometer on Astro-E2
XQC X-Ray Microcalorimeter Sounding Rocket
Advanced Instrument Development for X-ray Astrophysics

Scientific Investigations

Professional Society Membership

American Physical Society
Sigma Xi

Selected Publications

“The Astro-E2 XRS/EBIT Microcalorimeter X-ray Spectrometer”, Porter, F. S., Brown, G.V., Boyce, K.R., Kelley, R.L, Kilbourne, C.A., Beiersdorfer, P., Chen, H.,  Terracol, S., Kahn, S.M., Szymkowiak, A.E., Rev. Sci. Inst. (accepted).

“Laboratory Measurmements of 3 to 2 X-ray emission lines of Ne-like Ni XIX”, Gu, M. F., Beiersdorfer, P., Brown, G. V., Chen, H., Boyce, K. R., Kelley, R. L., Kilbourne, C. A., Porter, F. S., Kahn, S. M., ApJ. Lett., 607 (2004) L143-L146.

“Low Temperature Detectors in X-ray astronomy”, F. S. Porter, Nucl. Inst. And Meth., 520 (2004) 354-358.

"Laboratory Simulation of Charge Exchange-Produced X-ray Emission from Comets", Beiersdorfer, P., Boyce, K. R., Brown, G. V., Chen, H., Kahn, S. M., Kelley, R. L., May, M., Olson, R. E., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Tillotson, W. A., Science, 300 (2003) 1558-1560

"Proposed SMEX to spectrally analyze the diffuse x-ray background: The Baryonic Extragalactic Structure Tracer (BEST)", Sanders, W. T., Henry, R. C., Bregman, J. N., Cen, R., Cox, D. P., Croft, R. A. C., Hammond, E. C., Hurwitz, M. V., Kimble, R. A., McCammon, D., McKee, C., Murthy, J., Phillips, L. A., Porter, F. S., Raymond, J. C., Serlemitsos, P. J., Shelton, R. L., Smith, R. K., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, a. E., Proc. SPIE, 4851 (2003) 388-395

"Position-sensitive microcalorimeters for large-field high-energy resolution astrophysics", Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Boyce, K., Chervenak, J., Finkbeiner, F., Kelley, R., Li, M., Lindeman, M., Porter, S., Stahle, C. K., Proc SPIE, 2003 (4851) 913-921.

"A High Spectral Resolution Observation of the Soft X-Ray Diffuse Background with Thermal Detectors", McCammon, D., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Bergmann Tiest, W., Cui, W., Deiker, S., Galeazzi, M., Juda, M., Lesser, A., Mihara, T., Morgenthaler, J. P., Sanders, W. T., Zhang, J., Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Kelley, R. L., Moseley, S. H., Mushotzky, R. F., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., ApJ 576 (2002) 188-203.

"Laboratory Measurements of the Relative Intensity of the 3s-->2p and 3d-->2p Transitions in Fe XVII", Beiersdorfer, P., Behar, E., Boyce, K. R., Brown, G. V., Chen, H., Gendreau, K. C., Gu, M.-F., Gygax, J., Kahn, S. M., Kelley, R. L., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., ApJ Lett., 576 (2002) L169-L172
F. S. Porter, McCammon, D., Galeazzi, M, Stahle, C.K., ed. Proceedings of the 9th Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors, AIP Press, 2002.

“Measurement of Emission Cross Sections for n=3-->2 Lines in Li-like Fe23+”, Chen, H., Beiersdorfer, P., Scofield, J. H., Gendreau, K. C., Boyce, K. R., Brown, G. V., Kelley, R. L., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Kahn, S. M., ApJ Lett., 567 (2002) L169-L172.

“1/f Noise and Hot Electron Effects in Variable Range Hopping Conduction”, McCammon, D., Galeazzi, M., Liu, D., Sanders, W. T., Smith, B., Tan, P., Boyce, K. R., Brekosky, R., Gygax, J. D., Kelley, R., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Stahle, C. M., Szymkowiak, A. E., Phys. Status Solidi (B), 230 (2002) 197-204.

“Measurements of Atomic Parameters of Highly Charged Ions for Interpreting Astrophysical Spectra”, Brown, G. V., Beiersdorfer, P., Boyce, K. R., Gendreau, K. C., Gu, M. F., Gygax, J., Kahn, S. M., Kelley, R., Porter, F. S., Savin, D. W., Utter, S. B., Phys. Scripta, T92 (2001) 130-134.

"Laboratory Astrophysics using a Spare XRS Microcalorimeter". Porter, F. S., Audley, M. D., Beiersdorfer, P., Boyce, K. R., Brekosky, R. P., Brown, G. V., Gendreau, K. C., Gygax, J. D., Kahn, S. M., Kelley, R. L., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc SPIE 4140 (2000).

“Progress in the Development of Mo/Au Transition-Edge Sensors for X-ray Spectroscopy”, Stahle, C. K., Brekosky, R. P., Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Finkbeiner, F. M., Gygax, J. D., Li, M. J., Lindeman, M. A., Porter, F. S., Tralshawala, N., et al., Proc. SPIE, 4140, 367.(2000)

"Observations of the soft x-ray background with the XQC microcalorimeter sounding rocket", Porter, F. S., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Galeazzi, M., Kelley, R., McCammon, D., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Sanders, W. T., Nucl. Instr. and Meth, 444 (2000) 175.

"The XQC microcalorimeter sounding rocket: A stable LTD platform 30 seconds after rocket motor burnout", Porter, F. S., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Figueroa-Feliciano, E., Galeazzi, M., Kelley, R., McCammon, D., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Sanders, W. T., Nucl. Instr. and Meth, 444 (2000) 220.

"The microcalorimeter spectrometer on the ASTRO-E X-ray observatory", Kelley, R. L., Audley, M. D., Boyce, K. R., Fujimoto, R., Gendreau, K. C., Ishisaki, Y., McCammon, D., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Nucl. Instr. and Meth 444 (2000) 170.

"First results from Mo/Au transition-edge sensor X-ray calorimeters", Stahle, C. K., Finkbeiner, F. M., Boyce, K. R., Chen, T., Figueroa Feliciano, E., Gygax, J. D., Kelley, R. L., Li, M., Mattson, B. J., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. M., Szymkowiak, A. E., Tralshawala, N., Nucl. Instr. and Meth 444 (2000) 224.

"The interstellar medium X-ray spectrometer (IMXS)”, Galeazzi, M., Gatti, F., Vitale, S., McCammon, D., Sanders, W. T., Porter, F. S., Szymkowiak, A., Nucl. Instr. and Meth, 444 (2000) 268-272.

“The microcalorimeter spectrometer on the ASTRO-E X-ray observatory”, Kelley, R. L., Audley, M. D., Boyce, K. R., Fujimoto, R., Gendreau, K. C., Ishisaki, Y., McCammon, D., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Nucl. Instr. and Meth, 444 (2000) 170-174.

"The detector assembly and the ultra low temperature refrigerator for XRS". Porter, F. S., Audley, M. D., Brekosky, R. P., Derro, R. J., DiPirro, M. J., Gendreau, K. C., Gygax, J. D., Kelley, R. L., McCammon, D., Morrel, A., Murphy, S. D., Paulos, R. J., Pham, T., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Tuttle, J. G., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 729.

"ASTRO-E high-resolution x-ray spectrometer", Kelley, R. L., Audley, M. D., Boyce, K. R., Breon, S. R., Fujimoto, R., Gendreau, K. C., Holt, S. S., Ishisaki, Y., McCammon, D., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 114.

"Design and performance of the ASTRO-E/XRS microcalorimeter array and anticoincidence detector", Stahle, C. K., Audley, M. D., Boyce, K. R., Brekosky, R. P., Fujimoto, R., Gendreau, K. C., Gygax, J. D., Ishisaki, Y., Kelley, R. L., McClanahan, R. A., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. M., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 128.

"ASTRO-E/XRS calibration program and results", Gendreau, K. C., Audley, M. D., Arnaud, K. A., Boyce, K. R., Fujimoto, R., Ishisaki, Y., Kelley, R. L., Mihara, T., Mitsuda, K., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 137.

"ASTRO-E/XRS blocking-filter calibration", Audley, M. D., Arnaud, K. A., Gendreau, K. C., Boyce, K. R., Fleetwood, C. M., Kelley, R. L., Keski-Kuha, R. A., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Tveekrem, J. L., Fujimoto, R., Mitsuda, K., Ishisaki, Y., Mihara, T., Proc. SPIE 3765 (1999) 751.

"High-resolution calorimetry: limitations of doped semiconductor thermometers", McCammon, D., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Deiker, S., Galeazzi, M., Han, S.-I., Lesser, A., Sanders, W., Kelley, R. L., Moseley, S. H., Porter, F. S., Stahle, C. K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Nucl. Instr. and Meth A 436 (1999) 205.

"The physics and the optimization of the XRS calorimeters on Astro-E",  Stahle, C. K., Brekosky, R. P., Dutta, S. B., Gendreau, K. C., Kelley, R. L., McCammon, D., McClanahan, R. A., Moseley, S. H., Mott, D. B., Porter, F. S., Szymkowiak, A. E., A. E., Nucl. Instr. and Meth A 436 (1999) 218.

"Intrinsic 1/f noise in doped silicon thermistors for cryogenic calorimeters", Han, S. I., Almy, R., Apodaca, E., Bergmann, W., Deiker, S., Lesser, A., McCammon, Dan, Rawlins, K., Kelley, Richard L., Moseley, S. H., Porter, F. S., Stahle, Caroline K., Szymkowiak, A. E., Proc. SPIE 3445 (1998) 640.

"First Results from a Suborbital Flight of a 36 Pixel Microcalorimeter Array". S. Deiker, R. Kelley, A. Lesser, D. McCammon, F. S. Porter, W. T. Sanders, C. K. Stahle, and A. E. Szymkowiak..  Proc. 7th International Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors. Edited by S. Cooper. (MPI, Munich, 1997).

"Energy loss due to photoelectron escape from HgTe absorbers in x-ray microcalorimeters".  F. S. Porter, S. Deiker, R. Kelley, A. Lesser, D. McCammon, C. K. Stahle, and A. E. Szymkowiak. Proc. 7th International Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors. Edited by S. Cooper. (MPI, Munich, 1997).

"Optimization of the XRS calorimeters on Astro-E". C. K. Stahle, R. Kelley, A. E. Szymkowiak, D. B. Mott, R. P. Brekosky, S. B. Dutta, R. McClanahan, and F. S. Porter. Proc. 7th International Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors. Edited by S. Cooper. (MPI, Munich, 1997).

"Epitaxial Base Layer Nb Superconducting Tunnel Junctions with Ta Absorbers". Porter, F. S., van Vechten, D., Blamire, M. G., Burnell, G., Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A. 370 (1996) 50-52.

“Scintillation and anisotropic roton generation by charged particles in superfluid helium”, Bandler, S. R., Adams, J. S., Brouër, S. M., Enss, C., Lanou, R. E., Maris, H. J., More, T., Porter, F. S., Seidel, G. M., Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A. 370 (1996) 138-140.

"Alternative Non-Equilibrium Superconducting X-Ray Detectors". D. Van Vechten, F. S. Porter, K. S. Wood, and A. M. Gulian. Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A. 370 (1996) 34-37.

"Angular Distribution of Rotons Generated by Alpha Particles in Superfluid Helium: A Possible Tool for Low Energy Particle Detection". S. R. Bandler, S. M. Brouer, C. Enss, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, T. More, F. S. Porter, and G. M. Seidel. Phys. Rev. Lett. 74 (1995) 3169-3172.

"Suppression of Extrinsic Resolution Limiting Factors in Epitaxial Superconducting Tunnel Junction Detectors". F. S. Porter, D. Van Vechten, M. G. Blamire, and E. C. G. Kirk. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercon. 5 (1995) 3026-3029.

"Ta-Based Tunnel Junctions for Energy Resolving X-Ray Detection". M. G. Blamire, F. S. Porter, E. C. G. Kirk, and D. Van Vechten. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercon. 5 (1995) 3014-3017.

"Modeling the Spectra of Superconducting Tunnel Junction X-Ray Detectors". D. Van Vechten, F. S. Porter, K. S. Wood. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercon. 5 (1995) 3030-3033.

“Quantum evaporation of 4He: Angular dependence and efficiency”, Enss, C., Bandler, S. R., Lanou, R. E., Maris, H. J., More, T., Porter, F. S., Seidel, G. M., Physica B, 194 (1994) 515-516.

“A stepper motor for use at temperatures down to 20 mK”, Porter, F. S., Bandler, S. R., Enss, C., Lanou, R. E., Maris, H. J., More, T., Seidel, G. M., Physica B, 194 (1994) 151-152.

“Particle Detection in Superfluid Helium”, Porter, F.S., Ph.D. Thesis, Brown University, 1994.

"The Evaporation Signal from a Particles Stopped in Superfluid Helium". S. R. Bandler, C. Enss, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, T. More, F. S. Porter, and G. M. Seidel. J. Low Temp. Phys. 93 (1993) 715.

"Metallic Magnetic Bolometers for Particle Detection". S. Bandler, C. Enss, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, T. More, F. S. Porter, and G. M. Seidel. J. Low Temp. Phys. 93 (1993) 709.

"Projected Performance of a Large Superfluid Helium Solar Neutrino Detector". S. Bandler, C. Enss, G. Goldhaber, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, T. More, F. S. Porter, and G. M. Seidel. J. Low Temp. Phys. 93 (1993) 785.

"Removal of superfluid helium from surfaces below 0.1K". R. Torii, S. R. Bandler, T. More, F. S. Porter, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, and G. M. Seidel. Rev. Sci. Instr. 63 (1992) 230.

“Particle detection by evaporation from superfluid helium”, Bandler, S. R., Lanou, R. E., Maris, H. J., More, T., Porter, F. S., Seidel, G. M., Torii, R. H., Phys. Rev. Lett., 68 (1992) 2429-2432.

"Calorimetric Detection of 5.5 MeV Alpha Particles in Superfluid 4He". F. S. Porter, S. R. Bandler, C. Enss, R. E. Lanou, H. J. Maris, T. More, G. M. Seidel. Phonon Scattering in Condensed Matter VII. edited by M. Meissner and R. O. Pohl. (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1993).

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This file was last modified on Monday, July 12, 2004