Research
I worked for several years as a member of Dr. Martin Gaskell's active galaxy
(AGN) group at the University of Nebraska. I conducted CCD photometry as part
of several large collaborative observing campaigns investigating
multi-wavelength variability of objects such as NGC 5548 and Akn 564.
My research up until Fall 2007 focused on AGN variability. I searched for rapid, sub-diurnal
variability in a sample of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, finding that for
these objects such events are rare and of low amplitude. This past summer
I helped complete a project that involved modeling of the emission of
NGC 5548. We used the photoionization program Cloudy to see the effects of dust
on the observed emission. This summer I also worked on a smaller project that searched
for rapid, night-to-night variability in the same object.
(NGC 5548 is very popular in the AGN world!)
Ages ago I did research in magnetic materials with Dr. Sy-Hwang Liou, using
atomic and magnetic force microscopy to study the behavior of domain walls
under applied external magnetic fields. It was neat, but it made me realize
how much more I'd rather be doing astronomy!
This summer I've started working for Dr. Churchill in the quasar absorption line
research group. I am currently learning how to model the gas giving rise to
these absorption features with the photoionization code Cloudy.
I am interested in many areas of astronomical research and in astronomy outreach and
education, especially in a planetarium setting.
Publications
NGC 5548: The AGN Energy Budget Problem and the Geometry of the Broad-Line Region and Torus
C. M. Gaskell, E. Klimek, & L. Nazarova, submitted to ApJ
X-ray/ultraviolet Observing Campaign of the Markarian 279
Active Galactic Nucleus Outflow: A Close Look at the Absorbing/Emitting Gas
with Chandra-LETGS
E. Costantini et al. 2007, A&A, 461, 121
Optical Variability of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
E. Klimek, C. M. Gaskell, & C. H. Hedrick 2004, ApJ, 609, 69
Variability Of Active Galactic Nuclei From The Optical To X-Ray Regions
C. M. Gaskell & E. Klimek 2003, A&AT, 22, 4
Multiwavelength Monitoring of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Arakelian 564. III. Optical Observations and the Optical-UV-X-Ray Connection
O. Shemmer et al. 2001, ApJ, 561, 162
A Spectroscopic and Photometric Study of Short-Timescale
Variability in NGC 5548
M. Dietrich et al. 2001, A&A, 371, 79
Meetings
June 2004: ASP Conference Series Volume 360 - AGN
Variability From X-Rays To Radio Waves, Optical Variability of the
Three Brightest Nearby Quasars
C. M. Gaskell et al.
January 2004: American Astronomical Society meeting, Optical Variability of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
E. Klimek, C. M. Gaskell, & C. H. Hedrick
January 2004: American Astronomical Society meeting, Optical Variability of Two High-Luminosity Radio-Quiet Quasars, PDS 456 and PHL 1811
C. M. Gaskell et al.
January 2002: American Astronomical Society meeting, Optical Variability of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Akn
564 on Timescales from Hours to Years
C. M. Gaskell et al.
