Jorge Meléndez

Curriculum Vitæ

Date of birth : 9 - 20 – 1970 (Peruvian)

Address : Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics,

Mount Stromlo Observatory, Cotter Road, Weston Creek, ACT 2611

Tel/fax/email : (61-2) 61250253 / (61-2) 61250233 / jorge@mso.anu.edu.au

Research Interests

Atomic & Molecular Data | Fundamental Stellar Properties and Chemical Abundances | Solar Twins | Habitability | Planet-Hosting Giant Stars | Stellar Evolution | Galactic Chemical Evolution |

Education

BSc in Physics. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Peru), 1987-1994

MSc in Astrophysics. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (Brazil). Thesis: Explosões solares tipo III (solar flares). Advisor: Dr. Hanumant S. Sawant, 03/1995 – 02/1997

PhD in Astronomy. Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil). Thesis: Espectroscopia no infravermelho – Oxigênio em estrelas pobres em metais. Advisor: Prof. Beatriz Barbuy, 03/1997- 03/2001

Employment

Research Fellow (Advanced Postdoc). Australian National University, RSAA, 09/2005 – present

Postdoctoral Scholar. Caltech, Astronomy Department, 09/2003 – 08/2005

Visiting Researcher. Departamento de Astronomia, Universidade de São Paulo, 12/2002 – 03/2003

Visiting Lecturer. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima, Peru), 09/2002 – 08/2003

Postdoctoral Fellow. Departamento de Astronomia, Universidade de São Paulo, 04/2001 - 03/2002

Scholarships, Prizes and Grants

ANSTO. AMRFP Travel Grants for observing (Keck & Magellan), 01/2006, 12/2006, 03/2007

American Astronomical Society. International Travel Grants, 11/2004 and 05/2005

Third World Academy of Sciences. Grant (SBIG spectrograph), 08/2003

UNMSM (Peru). Special Prize for Outstanding Research, 05/2003

Concytec (Peru). Research Grant 253-2003, 07/2003 - 01/2004

Concytec (Peru). Research Grant 156-2002, 08/2002 - 03/2003

FAPESP (Brazil). Universidade de São Paulo, Postdoctoral fellowship, 04/2001 - 03/2002

IAU and USP (Brazil). X Latin American IAU Regional Meeting, Travel Grant, 09/2001

FAPESP (Brazil). PhD fellowship, 03/1997 - 02/2002

CNPq (Brazil). MSc fellowship, 03/1995 - 02/1997

Observing Time Allocations

Gemini Observatory, Cerro Pachon, Chile (8m + Phoenix spectrograph)

Nine proposals for IR spectroscopy approved during 2002-2007 (six as PI or first co-I)

Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, USA

Two proposals approved for IR spectroscopy (both as first co-I)

4-m telescope + Phoenix (2001), 2.1-m telescope + Phoenix (1999)

Keck Observatory, Mauna Kea, USA

Fourteen proposals approved during 2000-2007 (nine as PI, three as first co-I)

Ten proposals for Keck I + HIRES (UV & optical), four proposals for Keck II + NIRSPEC

Magellan telescopes, Las Campanas, Chile (6.5-m + MIKE optical spectrograph)

Two proposals approved during 2006-2007 (one as PI)

McDonald Observatory, Texas, USA (2.7-m + 2dcoudé)

Two proposals approved for 2007 (both as first co-I)

Laboratorio Nacional de Astrofísica, Minas Gerais, Brazil (1.6-m + Coudé + IR camera)

Two proposals approved during 1999-2000 (both as PI)

VLT, Cerro Paranal, Chile (8m + CRIRES), One proposal approved during 2007

Professional Societies and Service

• American Astronomical Society, 2004 – present

• International Astronomical Union, 2003 – present

• Referee: MNRAS, A&A, AJ

• Telescope Allocation Committee, Siding Spring Observatory (Australia), 2006 – present

• More than 30 outreach astronomy talks (most of them in Peru, except one in Australia)

• Member of Scientific organizing committee, XXXIV Escuela Latinoamericana de Física, 2002

• Student-member of Administrative Council, Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciencias Atmosféricas da Universidade de São Paulo, 1998

• Coordinator of the Astronomy Group SPACE, Universidad Nacional de San Marcos, 1992-1994

PUBLICATIONS

• Number of papers: 31 peer-reviewed (22 of them as 1^st or 2^nd author) and 11 in proceedings

• Citations: total of 485 citations as provided by ADS

• Average number of citations per refereed paper: 18.1 (considering 26 papers published during 1999-2006, with 471 citations according to ADS)

• h-index = 14 as provided by ADS

• m-index = 1.6 (m=h/n, where n is the number of years, with n=9 [1999-2007])

Refereed Journal Publications

1. A Solar Twin with a Low Lithium Abundance. J. Meléndez & I. Ramirez, 2007, ApJ Letters

[A favorable report recommending acceptance after minor corrections has just been received]

2. Precise Radial Velocities. III. Spectroscopic Stellar Parameters. S. Hekker & J. Meléndez 2007, A&A, in press (astro-ph/0709.1145)

3. New Extremely Metal-Poor Stars in the Galactic Halo. J. G. Cohen, N. Christlieb, A. McWilliam, S. Shectman, I. Thompson, J. Meléndez, L. Wisotzki, D. Reimers 2007, ApJ, in press (astro-ph/0709.0029)

4. A New Type of Extremely Metal-Poor Star. J. G. Cohen, A. McWilliam, N. Christlieb, S. Shectman, I. Thompson, J. Meléndez, L. Wisotzki, D. Reimers 2007, ApJ Letters, 659, L161

5. Magnesium Isotopes in Metal-Poor Dwarfs, the Rise of AGB Stars and the Formation Timescale of the Galactic Halo. J. Meléndez & J. G. Cohen 2007, ApJ Letters, 659, L25

6. HD 98618: A Star Closely Resembling our Sun. J. Meléndez, K. Dodds-Eden & J. A. Robles 2006a, ApJ Letters, 641, L133

7. Permitted Oxygen Abundances and the Temperature Scale of Metal-Poor Turn-Off Stars. J. Meléndez, N. G. Shchukina, I. E. Vasiljeva & I. Ramírez 2006b, ApJ, 642, 1082

8. VLT-UVES abundance analysis of 4 giants in NGC 6553. A. Alves-Brito, ... J. Meléndez & Y. Momany (12 authors) 2006, A&A, 460, 269

9. Carbon Stars in the Hamburg/ESO Survey: Abundances. Cohen et al. 2006, AJ, 132, 137

10. The Frequency of Carbon Stars among Extremely Metal Poor Stars. Cohen et al. 2005, ApJ, 633, L109

11. A library of high resolution synthetic stellar spectra from 300nm to 1.8 micron with solar and alpha-enhanced composition. P. Coelho, B. Barbuy, J. Meléndez, R. Schiavon, B. Castilho 2005, A&A, 443, 735

12. The Effective Temperature Scale of FGK Stars. I. Determination of Temperatures and Angular Diameters with the Infrared Flux Method, I. Ramírez & J. Meléndez 2005a, ApJ, 626, 446

13. The Effective Temperature Scale of FGK Stars. II. T_eff/color/[Fe/H] calibrations, I. Ramírez & J. Meléndez 2005b, ApJ, 626, 465

14. Abundances in a Large Sample of Stars in M3 and M13, J. G. Cohen & J. Meléndez, 2005, AJ, 129, 303

15. Outer Versus Inner Halo Globular Clusters: NGC 7492 Abundances, J. G. Cohen & J. Meléndez, 2005, AJ, 129, 1607

16. Reappraising the Spite Lithium Plateau: Extremely Thin and Marginally Consistent with WMAP Data, J. Meléndez & I. Ramírez, 2004, ApJ, 615, L33

17. A Low Solar Oxygen Abundance from the First-Overtone OH Lines, J. Meléndez, 2004, ApJ, 615, 1042

18. Abundances in Very Metal Poor Dwarf Stars, J. Cohen, … & J. Meléndez (10 authors) 2004, ApJ, 612, 1107

19. Cooler and bigger than thought? Planetary host stellar parameters from the InfraRed Flux Method, I. Ramírez & J. Meléndez 2004b, ApJ, 609, 417

20. IRFM T_eff Calibrations for Cluster and Field Giants in the Vilnius, Geneva, RI(c) and DDO Photometric Systems, I. Ramírez & J. Meléndez 2004a, A&A, 417, 301

21. Gemini-Phoenix infrared high-resolution abundance analysis of five giants in the bulge globular cluster NGC 6553, J. Meléndez, B. Barbuy, E. Bica, et al. 2003, A&A, 411, 417

22. Oxygen Abundance in the Template Halo Giant HD 122563, B. Barbuy, J. Meléndez, M. Spite, et al. 2003, ApJ, 588, 1072

23. IRFM Temperature Calibrations for (Dwarfs in) the Vilnius, Geneva, RI(c) and DDO Photometric Systems, J. Meléndez & I. Ramírez 2003, A&A, 398, 705

24. Keck NIRSPEC infrared OH lines: Oxygen Abundances in Metal-Poor Stars down to [Fe/H] = -2.9, J. Meléndez & B. Barbuy 2002, ApJ, 575, 474-483

25. Chemical Abundances in Twelve Red Giants of the Large Magellanic Cloud from High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy, V. V. Smith, K. H. Hinkle, K. Cunha, B. Plez, D. L. Lambert, C. Pilachowski, B. Barbuy, J. Meléndez, et al., AJ, 124, 3241-3254

26. Oxygen Abundances in Metal-Poor Stars (-2.2 < [Fe/H] < -0.8) from Infrared OH lines, J. Meléndez, B. Barbuy & F. Spite 2001a, ApJ, 556, 858-871

27. Oxygen Abundances in Metal-Poor Stars from IR OH lines, J. Meléndez, B. Barbuy & F. Spite 2001b, New Astronomy Reviews, 45, 551-553

28. The acceleration region of energetic electrons associated with decimetric type III and X-ray bursts, F.C.R. Fernandes, H. Sawant, J. L. Meléndez, A. Benz & S. R. Kane 2000, Adv. Space Research, 25, 1813-1816

29. Mn I Hyperfine Structure in the Near Infrared, J. Meléndez, 1999, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 307, 197-202

30. Oscillator Strengths and Damping Constants for Atomic Lines in the J and H bands, J. Meléndez & B. Barbuy. 1999, ApJS, 124, 527-546

31. Statistical analysis of high frequency decimetric type III bursts, J. L. Meléndez, H. Sawant, F.C.R. Fernandes & A. Benz. 1999, Solar Physics, 187, 77-88

Papers in Conference Proceedings

Eleven papers in conference proceedings. The latest three papers are shown below:

1. Mg Isotopes in Halo Stars, J. Meléndez & J. G. Cohen, 2007, First Stars III, Santa Fe, July 16-20, 2007, ASP, in press

2. Abundances in Bulge, Disk and Halo Stars, J. Meléndez et al., 2006, Cool Stars 14, Pasadena, Nov 6-10, 2006, Gerard van Belle (ed), ASP, in press

3. The temperature scale of metal-poor dwarfs: lithium and oxygen abundances, J. Meléndez, N. G. Shchukina, I. Ramírez & I. E. Vasiljeva, 2005, From Lithium to Uranium: Elemental Tracers of Early Cosmic Evolution, IAU Symp. 228, Paris, May 23-27, 2005, Hill, V.; François, P.; Primas, F. (eds), CUP, pp.265-266

Other Publications

• New Solar Twin Could Shed Light on Another Earth. J. Meléndez, K. Dodds-Eden & J. A. Robles 2006, ANU press-release.

• La Gran Explosión y WMAP. J. Meléndez & I. Ramírez 2005, Investigación y Ciencia (Spanish edition of Scientific American), Agosto, pp. 29-31

• Astronomía: Ciencia Interdisciplinaria. J. Meléndez, 2002, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones UNMSM, Boletín 45, 4-6

• V4334 Sagittarii. K. Hinkle; R. Joyce; A. Koekemoer; C. Kulesa; J. Meléndez, 1999, IAU Circular, 7266, 1

• Forecast of Solar Activity (in Spanish). J. Meléndez & R. Melgarejo, UNMSM, 1994-1995

• Author and co-author of several educational booklets (in Spanish): El problema del neutrino solar, Eclipse Total de Luna, Efemerides 1992-1994, Muerte de las Estrellas, Quarks.

References

• Prof. Beatriz Barbuy (barbuy@astro.iag.usp.br)

Vice Director, Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas, Univ. São Paulo

IAG-USP, Rua do Matão 1226, Cidade Universitária, 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

• Prof. Judith Cohen (jlc@astro.caltech.edu)

Kate Van Nuys Page Professor of Astronomy

Caltech Astronomy, M/C 105-24, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

• Prof. Martin Asplund (asplund@mpa-garching.mpg.de, martin@mso.anu.edu.au)

Director, Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik

MPA-Garching, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str.1, Postfach 1317, D-85741 Garching, Germany