Associate Research Professor, Steward Observatory | Member of the Graduate Faculty
Dr. Kulesa's main research area is the Galactic interstellar medium, with a special emphasis on the broad understanding of the life cycle of interstellar gas as it relates to star formation. Aspects of this evolutionary cycle include the formation and destruction of molecular clouds and the direct feedback mechanism between stars and gas. To study these processes, he is working on a variety of new infrared and submillimeter instrumentation. He is deputy-PI of both the Supercam' 64-beam imaging spectrometer for the SMT, and the balloon-borne Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory. He has also recently deployed a first-generation submillimeter telescope to the summit of the Antarctic plateau HEAT) and is completing an infrared imager and echelle spectrometer for the MMT ARIES)