The OCdb Development Team

Dr. Roser is a laboratory astrophysics experimentalist with experience in matrix isolation spectroscopy of PAH molecules, the infrared spectroscopy of vacuum-deposited ices and determination of optical constants, and ultra-high vacuum surface science techniques. He is the PI of the Matrix Isolation/Optical Constants of Ices (MIOCI) facility, which can determine infrared optical constants of ices at realistic temperatures for simulating ice mantles on interstellar grains or the surfaces of outer Solar System bodies.

Dr. Sciamma-O’Brien is a laboratory astrophysics experimentalist simulating the atmospheric chemistry of (exo)planetary atmospheres and surfaces and the low temperature chemical processes in interstellar and circumstellar environments with the COSmIC facility. She is the PI of the Optical Constants Facility which can be used to characterize solid samples from the visible to the far infrared (0.6 – 200 µm) in transmission and reflection for the determination of their optical constants.

Dr. Boersma is involved with various initiatives for making Laboratory Astrophysics and Planetary Science data and associated tools available to the science community. He is PI of the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database, which holds computed and experimental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) spectra, and tools for the community to use in the analysis and interpretation of PAH observations. He has also been taking part in the development of the Optical Constants Database and the NASA Raman Database.

Dr. Lora Jovanovic is a laboratory astrophysics experimentalist, focusing on the simulation of chemistry in planetary atmospheres using plasma experimental setups and on photochemistry at the surfaces of icy bodies using cryostat-cooled ultra-high vacuum chambers coupled to UV lamps. Lora's research aims to understand the origin and evolution of organic matter formed in the atmospheres and on the surfaces of small Solar System bodies (dwarf planets, icy satellites) and exoplanets, by characterizing the physico-chemical properties of analogs synthesized in the laboratory, in particular their optical constants.

Amy is a multidisciplinary artist whose work examines the intersection between art and science through collaborations with researchers in diverse scientific fields. She often incorporates discarded laboratory equipment into her works, such as copper gaskets. Amy received her MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and has exhibited her work in various galleries and museums, including The Kentucky Museum, The National Academy of Sciences, and in galleries throughout New York City. Amy provided her gasket art for the OCdb website, bringing a new dimension to the project.