Dynamic Response of the Environment At the Moon

Picture of Michael Collier

Michael Collier


1. What is your role on the DREAM team?


I am working on lunar surface potentials and dust as well as providing a link to particle instrumentation.


2. What about DREAM do you find most interesting? Most challenging?


The most interesting and challenging element of DREAM is integrating the broad range of expertise on the team.


3. What other NASA programs or missions have you participated in?


As a civil servant in the Planetary Magnetospheres Laboratory at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, I contributed to fabricating, calibrating, commanding and analyzing data from many flight hardware projects including the Low Energy Neutral Atom (LENA) imager on the IMAGE spacecraft and the SWICS-MASS-STICS package on the Wind spacecraft. My research interests include lunar surface potentials, lunar dust, soft X-ray emission from SWCX, solar wind particles and fields and the study of low energy neutral atoms. I participate heavily in the development of advanced particle instrumentation and served as Instrument Scientist for IMAGE/LENA. He currently supports the Wind spacecraft as Deputy Project Scientist.


4. What kind/level of education do you have?


Ph. D., Physics, Univ. of MD, College Park, 1993
M.S., Physics, Univ. of MD, College Park, 1990
B.S., Physics, summa cum laude, Univ. of MD, College Park, 1988


5. What advice do you have for students who want to work for NASA or on NASA-related research?


Advice for kids is to stay in school and don't do (illegal) drugs.


6. What are your favorite things to do outside of work?


When I am not working, I am trying to get through "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" before I die.



 
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