Alan Brass Prize Fellowship in Instrumentation and Technology Development

 


 

The Alan Brass Prize Fellowship for the Development of Astronomical Instrumentation is a three year postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. The Brass Fellow pursues an ambitious program of astronomical instrument development independently or in collaboration with the students, staff, and faculty of Steward Observatory.

The Brass Fellow receives an annual stipend, as well access to a generous research fund to support their scientific program. All of the observational and computational facilities of the Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory are available to the Fellow, who is encouraged to conduct independent research and to develop collaborations with faculty, staff, and students.

About Alan Brass: Alan Brass was a docent at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab from 2007 to 2021, where he showed countless visitors the wonders of large telescope mirror fabrication. He graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of New York, with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and holds an M.A. from Binghamton University.  Alan was a Tucson resident from 2000 to 2021. As a member of the RFCML outreach team he played a large role in communicating the successes of Arizona astronomy to the public. His generosity in supporting the Brass Fellowship will enable Steward Observatory to remain at the forefront of innovation in astronomical instrumentation, providing new achievements to share with the world.

Current Brass Fellow

Miles Lucas (2025-present)

 

Miles Lucas

mileslucas@arizona.edu

I specialize in developing high-contrast astronomical instrumentation, with a focus on polarimetry, detectors, instrument control, and data processing. During my dissertation, I led major upgrades to the visible-light polarimetric imager, VAMPIRES, on the Subaru Telescope and pioneered novel multi-instrument observational techniques for polarimetric imaging. My observational work centers on multi-wavelength polarimetric studies of planet-forming disks, analyzing scattered light from the visible to near-infrared to explore disk structures and planet formation processes. I am also committed to open-source software development, actively creating and contributing to astronomical software tools. Beyond research, I enjoy photography, coffee, cooking, baking, hiking, climbing, and drumming.

Past Brass Fellows

 
Nicole Melso 2022-2025
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Nicole Melso

 

Narsireddy Anugu 2019 - 2021
Alan Brass