NASA







Meet the Team


APD Program Mananagement

Barbara Grofic

Barbara Grofic

Program Manager

X Barbara Grofic

Barbara Grofic
Program Manager

Barb is the Program Manager for the Astrophysics Project Division, which includes the Hubble Space Telescope Operations and Space Science Mission Operations and the Program Director of the PhysCOS/COR Program Office, which includes the ATHENA and LISA studies currently in pre-formulation as well as the management of the Strategic Astrophysics Technology Program. She collaborates with the Exoplanet Explorations Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Astrophysics Strategic Missions Program at NASA Headquarters to prepare NASA to implement the results of the 2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Barb has over 30 years of NASA technical management experience, including system upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope’s control center for the spacecraft’s multiple servicing missions, and branch head and associate division chief in the Information Systems and Systems Engineering Divisions, including the Software Engineering Branch at the Wallops Flight Facility. She led the creation of the Program Systems Engineering office for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R) and then served as Lead Technical Authority for the Earth Systematic Missions Program (ESMP). She has also provided leadership as the Assistant Director for Program Support in the Science & Exploration Directorate and as the Deputy Program Manager/Technical for the JPSS Program.

Barb earned a B.A. in Mathematics & Astronomy from Smith College and an M.S. in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University. She lives with her husband Barry and rescue dogs Jake, Miranda, and Nova and, enjoys golf, cruising in their 1966 Corvair, and visiting with their seven grandchildren.

Cathy Barclay

Cathy Barclay

Deputy Program Manager

Tracy Felton-Robinson

Tracy Felton-Robinson

Program Business Manager

Mission Concepts and Technology

Dr. Mark Matsumura

Dr. Mark Matsumura

Program System Engineer

Rachel Rivera

Rachel Rivera

Technology Development Manager

Jason Derleth

Jason Derleth

Chief Technologist

Dr. Opher Ganel

Dr. Opher Ganel

Program Technologist/Systems Engineer

X Dr. Opher Ganel

Dr. Opher Ganel
Program Technologist/Systems Engineer

Dr. Ganel is currently Program Technologist/Systems Engineer (SE) at the Astrophysics Projects Division, as well as Production Lead, editor, and co-author of the Program Annual Technology Reports (PATRs) for the Physics of the Cosmos (PhysCOS) and Cosmic Origins (COR) Program Offices.

Opher began his career in academia, working in high-energy physics. His research experience includes particle detector R&D at Texas Tech University, helping develop the concept for the very forward calorimeter of CERN’s CMS experiment that can survive 10 Gigarads; recommissioning the Meson Test beamline at Fermilab for the CDF detector upgrade effort, increasing usable yield 10-fold; and after leaving Texas in 1997, joining the University of Maryland Cosmic-Ray Physics group where he was Co-Investigator (Co-I) on the ATIC and CREAM balloon experiments, serving as de-facto Instrument Manager (IM) and Instrument Systems Engineer (ISE) for CREAM.

After leaving academia in 2009, Opher served as Co-I and SE on the Firefly CubeSat mission; capture manager/IM on in-house GSFC proposal efforts; and ISE at GSFC’s Instrument Development Lab (IDL), supporting studies spanning Earth, Planetary, and Astrophysics instrument concepts.

Opher brings 30 years of experience in cutting-edge science and technology work in collider experiments, as well as sub-orbital and satellite projects; leading multi-disciplinary and international teams; and serving as an effective interface between members of management, science, and engineering teams.

Opher holds an MSc in theoretical physics (Green-Schwartz Superstring theory) and a Ph.D in experimental high-energy physics (Searches for Standard Model and Minimal SuperSymmetric Model Higgs Bosons with the OPAL Detector at LEP), both from the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Scientists

Dr. Francesca Civano

Dr. Francesca Civano

PhysCOS Chief Scientist

Dr. Brian Humensky

Dr. Brian Humensky

PhysCOS Chief Scientist

Bernard Kelly

Dr. Bernard Kelly

PhysCOS Support Scientist

X Bernard Kelly

Dr. Bernard Kelly
PhysCOS Support Scientist

Dr. Bernard Kelly studied Experimental and Mathematcal Physics at University College, Dublin. After a two-year break as a financial mathematician, he attended graduate school in Penn State University, studying numerical relativity under Dr Pablo Laguna (now in Georgia Tech), graduating with a Ph.D. in 2004.

From 2004 to 2006, Bernard was a postdoctoral scholar in the University of Texas, Brownsville, working with Manuela Campanelli, Carlos Lousto, and Yosef Zlochower (now at the Rochester Institiute of Technology). Bernard's research centered on the Lazarus Project, an effort to extend then-short-lived black-hole-binary merger simulations by mapping their later stages to a more stable perturbative code.

In late 2006, Bernard came to NASA Goddard as an NPP with the Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, working with Joan Centrella, John Baker, and the numerical relativity group there. He continues to work at GSFC, as a CRESST Assistant Research Scientist affiliated with the Physics Department of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Bernard provides coordination between NASA HQ and scientists for the Physics of the Cosmos program, organization and oversight of activities for scientific meetings (e.g., American Astronomical Society, American Physical Society, etc.), and coordinating and managing outreach related to PhysCOS.

Peter Kurczynski

Dr. Peter Kurczynski  

COR Chief Scientist

X Peter Kurczynski

Dr. Peter Kurczynski
COR Chief Scientist

Dr. Peter Kurczynski is the Chief Scientist of NASA's Cosmic Origins Program. Peter supports the Cosmic Origins program by engaging the astrophysics community and contributing to the NASA strategic planning process. Peter graduated from the University of Michigan and then got his Ph.D in Physics from the University of Maryland. His research interests include the formation and evolution of galaxies as well as new technologies to explore the universe, including adaptive optics, interferometry and detectors. He enjoys communicating the wonder of discovery and the importance and relevance of science to our daily lives and society.

Swara Ravindranath

Dr. Swara Ravindranath

COR Deputy Chief Scientist

X Swara Ravindranath

Dr. Swara Ravindranath
COR Deputy Chief Scientist

Dr. Swara Ravindranath served as an Instrument Scientist and Calibration Deputy Lead for the James Webb Space Telescope commissioning team at the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore. Her research interests include understanding the first galaxies and the process of reionization, the early stages of galaxy assembly, the evolution of galaxy sizes and morphologies, and the coevolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.




Ronald Gamble

Dr. Ronald Gamble

COR Support Scientist

X Ronald Gamble

Dr. Ronald Gamble
COR Support Scientist

Dr. Ronald S. Gamble, Jr. is a Theoretical Astrophysicist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center researching the energy emission processes of relativistic jets from high-energy active galactic nuclei and their connection to Supermassive Black Hole rotations. He is currently a CRESST-II Visiting Assistant Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland—College Park. Accompanying this, Dr. Gamble also has seven years experience in academia as a physics, mathematics, and computational science instructor and curricula developer. His experiences span across multiple industries including higher-education, space & defense, and the Arts.

He received his Ph.D. in Theoretical Astrophysics (2017); M.S. in Condensed Matter Physics (2014) and B.S. Physics (2012) from the North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. While there he held a Title III HBGI Fellowship, completing the first physics-related dissertation at North Carolina A&T State University pertaining to the emission and propagation of nonlinear tensor-mode gravitational waves from colliding black holes. Dr. Gamble holds professional memberships in the National Society of Black Physicists, the National Society of Hispanic Physicists (2009-2012), and the American Physical Society (FECS, Division of Astrophysics, Division of Gravitational Physics, and the Forum on Diversity & Inclusion). He is frequently sought after by his former students for academic and career advisement and mentoring. His future endeavors involve establishing a network for mentoring undergraduate and graduate students within underrepresented STEM fields. Dr. Gamble is also an established oil/acrylic painter, graphic designer, and illustrator with 15 years of experience.

Dr. James Rhoads

Dr. James Rhoads

ULTRASAT Scientist

Studies/Initiatives

Dr. Chris Roberts

Dr. Chris Roberts

TDAMM Intitiative Manager

Terry Doiron

Terry Doiron

LISA Study Manager

Program Resource Management

Pat Smith

Pat Smith

Deputy Program Business Manager

Pat Butler

Pat Butler

Programmatic Officer

Ryan Bradley

Ryan Bradley

Resources Analyst

Communications and Public Outreach

Stephanie Clark

Stephanie Clark

PhysCOS/COR Program Support Manager

X Stephanie Clark

Stephanie Clark
PhysCOS/COR Program Support Manager

Stephanie began her career at NASA working for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as a Project Support Specialist. During her three years on JWST, Stephanie provided administrative support including travel and meeting coordination to her customers. On occasion, she would volunteer for various outreach events both at Goddard Space Flight Center and off site. Stephanie realized that her true passion was working with the public and supporting these outreach events. She recently transitioned to support the Astrophysics Projects Division and the Hubble Space Telescope in doing just that. Currently, Stephanie helps to plan various conferences throughout the year, coordinate and attend outreach events, as well as design and produce outreach materials for the public.

Elizabeth Tammi

Elizabeth Tammi

Project Support Specialist

Tracy Vogel

Tracy Vogel

Science Writer

X Tracy Vogel

Tracy Vogel
Science Writer

Tracy Vogel is a science writer for the Astrophysics Projects Division at Goddard Space Flight Center. Prior to her work at Goddard, she spent 14 years working on public outreach and social media for the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope missions at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, where she was a member of a Webby award-winning team.

She graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism, and was a reporter and editor for a variety of newspapers, magazines and websites. Her work has included articles, interactive features, video scripts, ebooks, blogs and more.

Program Support

Susan Wright

Susan Wright

Program Secretary

X Susan Wright

Susan Wright
Program Secretary

Susan has been in the Astrophysics Projects Division (APD) Office since 2010 serving as Secretary to the Associate Director and Deputy Program Manager. She’s responsible for maintaining calendars for the Division managers, preparing travel orders and vouchers, initiating badge requests, serving as LIST Monitor, being the point of contact for timecards, and providing administrative support for the APD Office. Susan initiated and hosts the Code 400 Travel Preparers Issues Group which meets regularly throughout the year to find solutions to various travel issues in Concur Travel.

Colleen Ponton

Colleen Ponton

Program Support Lead

X Colleen Ponton

Colleen Ponton
Program Support Lead

Colleen Ponton is the Integrated Program Team Lead for the Astrophysics Projects Division Project Support team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Ms. Ponton has more than 30 years of multifunctional experience with an emphasis on project support and data management, supporting eight Shuttle missions and one Delta mission. She supervises and provides technical leadership for about 30 personnel supporting the Astrophysics Projects Division, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Project, the Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope (WFIRST) Project, the Satellite Servicing Projects Division, and has supported the GLAST, Con-X, JDEM, LISA, Express Logistics Carriers, Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), and EP/Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) Projects. In addition to her data management experience, she has experience with records management, photo documentation management, Education/Public Outreach (E/PO), and broad aspects of logistics for spacecraft and launch support.

Ms. Ponton received a B.S. in Communication with a minor in Technical Management from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and has earned a Project management Professional (PMP) certification. She is a member of the UMUC Honor Society, Tau Chapter, and has served as President of the Goddard Contractors’ Association and as an officer and Competent Toastmaster (CTM) of the Space Speakers Toastmasters Club.

Tony Griffin

Tony Griffin

Logistics Manager

X Tony Griffin

Tony Griffin
Logistics Manager

Tony Griffin ” Forward is the Logistics Manager.

Mary Morrow

Mary Morrow

APD Program Support Manager
Herb Eaton

Herb Eaton

Senior Graphic Designer

X Herb Eaton

Herb Eaton
Senior Graphic Designer

Herb is a Senior Graphic Designer for the Program Analysis and Control (PAAC) Contract. He provides print and publication design, illustration, virtual modeling, video, animation, and photography support services for PAAC customers at Goddard and throughout NASA.

Currently, Herb primarily supports the Satellite Servicing Projects Division (SSPD) and the Astrophysics Projects Division (APD), here at Goddard. SSPD grew out of the team responsible for the HST servicing missions that Herb began supporting in 1998, and Herb grew along with them. SSPD has a robust media program including virtual modeling, video, and animations for presentations, workshops, television broadcast, web-based public outreach, and International Space Station crew training, in additional to traditional products. APD primarily calls on Herb for publication design. Herb has designed their Program Annual Technology Reports for the past six years.

Herb’s graphics work has been displayed at several Smithsonian museums, the Warner Bros. corporate museum, and has been used at Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center. Herb’s video and animation work has been broadcast on all of the major U.S. networks, as well as on NASA Television.

Rachel Ruhl

Rachel Ruhl

Project Support Specialist


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