Staff

Staff List by Alphabetical Order

Barrios, Paolo	Graduate student (Cambridge) Paolo Barrios is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge and has contributed to the MROI project since 2023. His PhD focuses on commissioning FOURIER, MROI’s first-generation science beam combiner. He led the instrument’s final upgrades and testing in Cambridge before supporting its installation and commissioning at MROI. He is currently studying FOURIER’s detector performance and using FOURIER to characterise the local atmosphere.
Buscher, David	Interferometer System Architect (Cambridge) David Buscher helped to set up the collaboration between the University of Cambridge and New Mexico Tech to build the MROI in 2002. He is System Architect for MROI (jointly with Chris Haniff), responsible for the overall system design of the MROI and for technical oversight of the project. He is also a lecturer at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, where he teaches physics and astronomy courses, and does research in optical interferometry and adaptive optics. Professional website	(575) 835 – 6964 (+44) (0)1223 337 302
Creech-Eakman, Michelle	Interferometer Project Scientist/NESSI Principal Investigator Michelle Creech-Eakman is a Professor of Physics at NMT and has been the Project Scientist for MROI since 2003. She also serves on several panels and organizing committees including those for SPIE, NASA and NSF. Professional website	(575) 835 – 6756 (575) 835 – 5809
Farris, Allen	Interferometer Special Software Consultant Previously lead software engineer for the MROI project, Allen is responsible for the overall design and implementation of control system software. Implemented Core software for the Interferometer Supervisory System.
Floyd, Emma	Senior Instrumentation Researcher Emma Floyd joined MROI in 2024, from a background in high energy density lab based experiments. She works on various MROI instrumentation components, including the alignment system and unit telescope wavefront error optimization. She also writes tools to visualize data and is writing the science data analysis pipeline.
Frothington, David	Graduate Research Assistant David Frothingham is a Ph.D. student at New Mexico Tech studying evolved stars with optical/near IR interferometry. He started working for MROI in 2022. He is part of the team developing the data reduction pipeline for FOURIER, MROI’s first science beam combiner.
Giron, Jesse	Site Ops and Facilities Coordinator Jesse Giron assists in maintaining the road to MRO and the facilities in general, along with various other projects for MROI and Langmuir Labs.
Giron, Melanie	Project Coordinator for the MROI/ Langmuir projects Melanie handles all paperwork for incoming staff/ students as well as all invoicing and purchasing tasks. Prior to joining the team her background was in banking and teaching
Haniff, Chris	Interferometer System Architect (Cambridge) Chris Haniff heads the Optical Interferometry sub-group at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK and has worked on the MROI since 2002 when New Mexico Tech’s collaboration with the University of Cambridge to develop an ambitious optical/infrared imaging interferometer was initiated. Together with David Buscher, he is one of the two System Architects for the MROI, responsible for its overall system design and oversight of its technical delivery. He is a Professor of Physics at the Cavendish and is a fellow of Downing College, Cambridge. Professional website	(575) 835 – 6964 (+44) (0)1223 337 307
Luis, James	Research scientist James Luis has been involved with the MROI since he started his graduate studies in 2016 at the University of Cambridge. During this time he has updated designs for the MROI’s Automated Alignment System (AAS), validated prototype alignment hardware and assisted the team with on-site commissioning activities for the first two beamlines of the Interferometer ahead of its first fringes milestone.	.
Norris, Ryan	Assistant Professor of Physics Ryan Norris is an assistant professor in the Physics Department at NMT. He joined MROI in 2020. In addition to his assistance with MROI, he currently conducts research on novel techniques for imaging with optical interferometry as well as stellar evolution and interacting binaries.
Olivares, Andrés	Project Engineer Andrés Olivares joined MROI in 2007 from NOAO/CTIO in Chile as an optomechanical engineer and Unit Telescope Lead. In this role, he was responsible for designing key optomechanical subsystems of the interferometer and overseeing related contracts and external procurements. He returned to MROI in 2023 following a period at the NOIRLab/Gemini Observatory and currently serves as a project engineer, supporting the technical team and planning and coordinating its activities.
Pedroni, Barbara	Graduate student (Cambridge) Barbara Pedroni is a PhD student in the Optical Instrumentation Group at the Cavendish Astrophysics Department, University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the Fast Tip-Tilt system of MROI, including the development and testing of closed-loop control algorithms and image-centroid estimation methods. She completed her Master’s degree in Applied Physics at Delft University of Technology.
Rochelle, Sam	Senior Software Engineer/Manager Sam joined the MRO Interferometer first as a physics student in 2012 then again as software engineer in 2024. In between, he spent two years in graduate school studying geochemistry and worked for several startups in the autonomous vehicle space.
Romero, Van	Principal Investigator of MRO/Vice President of R&ED, NMT Van Romero is the Vice President of Research and Economic Development at New Mexico Tech; Principal Investigator for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer; manages a diverse research portfolio including programs in astronomy, energy, and Homeland Security.	(575) 835 – 5646
Ryan, Eileen	Director, 2.4-meter Telescope Eileen Ryan joined MRO in 2002. As Director of the 2.4-meter Telescope, Dr. Ryan manages its technical, financial, and operational activities, and leads the development of scientific and military initiatives. She is the Principal Investigator of a NASA-funded Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) program and Co-Principal Investigator (with William Ryan) of an NSF-funded program to determine spin rates of NEOs.	(575) 835 – 6803
Ryan, William	2.4-meter Telescope Scientist William Ryan joined MRO in 2003. As Research Scientist for the 2.4-meter Telescope, Dr. Ryan conducts observationally-based research on objects in the Solar System (both natural and artificial), and provides scientific support for planning and development. He also tests/monitors the performance of the telescope, camera instruments, and software, and contributes to their improvement via new designs and approaches.	(575) 835 – 6646
Salcido, Chris	Interferometer Lead Opto-Mechanical Engineer Chris Salcido joined MRO in 2007 as an undergraduate mechanical engineering student at New Mexico Tech, and became a full time Mechanical Engineer after graduating with his B.S. degree in 2008. He is currently the lead engineer for the Vacuum System.	(575) 835 – 6947
Santoro, Rafael	Telescope Operations Engineer Rafael Santoro joined MROI in 2022 with background experience in elaboration and detailing of opto-mechanical technical drawings, as well as interaction with mechanical assemblies and interfaces between mechanical systems and subsystems. He is responsible for supporting the Lead Opto-Mechanical Engineer in the delivery of the mechanical and opto-mechanical components and how they interface with the optical components at the MRO Interferometer.	(575) 835 – 5182
Schofield, Ian	Interferometer Software Engineer Ian Schofield joined MRO in 2022 as a software engineer and will be working on the control software for the MROI. In a previous life Ian worked in space physics developing geomagnetic instrumentation and managing a major ground-based magnetometer network.
Seneta, Eugene (Bodie)	Senior Research Associate (Cambridge) Bodie Seneta is an instrumentation scientist at Cambridge University and has been involved with the MROI project since 2003. His current focus is development and commissioning of the MROI delay line, fast tip-tilt system and first-light beam combiners. His research interests include array detectors, computer-instrumentation interfacing and hard real time servo control systems.
Young, John	Senior Research Associate (Cambridge) John Young works as a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, and has collaborated on the MROI Project since 2003. Dr. Young leads the fast tip-tilt work package at Cambridge and acts as point-of-contact with MROI staff for all software matters. His research interests include distributed real-time control systems, optical synthesis imaging and the physics of evolved stars.	(575) 835 – 6964 (+44) (0)1223 337 347

Contact Facilities, Site and Infrastructure

2.4 Meter Telescope Control Room	At the Observatory site	(575) 835 – 6771
2.4 Meter Telescope Dome	At the Observatory site	(575) 835 – 6787
2.4 Meter Telescope Elevator E911	At the Observatory site	(575) 835 – 7972
Large Conference Room	ROB Conference Room 101	(575) 835 – 5042
Mini-Conference Room	ROB Conference Room 153	(575) 835 – 6809
Facilities, Site & Infrastructure Trailer	At the Observatory site	(575) 835 – 7975
Interferometer Beam Combining Facility	At the Observatory site	(575) 835 – 7808
Optics Lab	NMT Workman Lab 195-197	(575) 835 – 5107

Staff List by Program

Principal Investigators

Romero, Van

Principal Investigator of MRO/Vice President of R&ED, NMT

Van Romero is the Vice President of Research and Economic Development at New Mexico Tech; Principal Investigator for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer; manages a diverse research portfolio including programs in astronomy, energy, and Homeland Security.

(575) 835 – 5646

Administration

Giron, Melanie	Project Coordinator for the MROI/ Langmuir projects Melanie handles all paperwork for incoming staff/ students as well as all invoicing and purchasing tasks. Prior to joining the team her background was in banking and teaching
Ryan, Eileen	Director, 2.4-meter Telescope Eileen Ryan joined MRO in 2002. As Director of the 2.4-meter Telescope, Dr. Ryan manages its technical, financial, and operational activities, and leads the development of scientific and military initiatives. She is the Principal Investigator of a NASA-funded Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) program and Co-Principal Investigator (with William Ryan) of an NSF-funded program to determine spin rates of NEOs.	(575) 835 – 6803

MROI

Creech-Eakman, Michelle	Interferometer Project Scientist/NESSI Principal Investigator Michelle Creech-Eakman is a Professor of Physics at NMT and has been the Project Scientist for MROI since 2003. She also serves on several panels and organizing committees including those for SPIE, NASA and NSF. Professional website	(575) 835 – 6756 (575) 835 – 5809
Farris, Allen	Interferometer Special Software Consultant Previously lead software engineer for the MROI project, Allen is responsible for the overall design and implementation of control system software. Implemented Core software for the Interferometer Supervisory System.
Floyd, Emma	Senior Instrumentation Researcher Emma Floyd joined MROI in 2024, from a background in high energy density lab based experiments. She works on various MROI instrumentation components, including the alignment system and unit telescope wavefront error optimization. She also writes tools to visualize data and is writing the science data analysis pipeline.
Giron, Jesse	Site Ops and Facilities Coordinator Jesse Giron assists in maintaining the road to MRO and the facilities in general, along with various other projects for MROI and Langmuir Labs.
Giron, Melanie	Project Coordinator for the MROI/ Langmuir projects Melanie handles all paperwork for incoming staff/ students as well as all invoicing and purchasing tasks. Prior to joining the team her background was in banking and teaching
Luis, James	Research scientist James Luis has been involved with the MROI since he started his graduate studies in 2016 at the University of Cambridge. During this time he has updated designs for the MROI’s Automated Alignment System (AAS), validated prototype alignment hardware and assisted the team with on-site commissioning activities for the first two beamlines of the Interferometer ahead of its first fringes milestone.
Norris, Ryan	Assistant Professor of Physics Ryan Norris is an assistant professor in the Physics Department at NMT. He joined MROI in 2020. In addition to his assistance with MROI, he currently conducts research on novel techniques for imaging with optical interferometry as well as stellar evolution and interacting binaries.
Olivares, Andrés	Project Engineer Andrés Olivares joined MROI in 2007 from NOAO/CTIO in Chile as an optomechanical engineer and Unit Telescope Lead. In this role, he was responsible for designing key optomechanical subsystems of the interferometer and overseeing related contracts and external procurements. He returned to MROI in 2023 following a period at the NOIRLab/Gemini Observatory and currently serves as a project engineer, supporting the technical team and planning and coordinating its activities.
Rochelle, Sam	Senior Software Engineer/Manager Sam joined the MRO Interferometer first as a physics student in 2012 then again as software engineer in 2024. In between, he spent two years in graduate school studying geochemistry and worked for several startups in the autonomous vehicle space.
Salcido, Chris	Interferometer Lead Opto-Mechanical Engineer Chris Salcido joined MRO in 2007 as an undergraduate mechanical engineering student at New Mexico Tech (NMT) and became a full time Mechanical Engineer after graduating with his B.S. degree in 2008. He is currently the lead engineer for the Vacuum System.	(575) 835 – 6947
Santoro, Rafael	Telescope Operations Engineer Rafael Santoro joined MROI in 2022 with background experience in elaboration and detailing of opto-mechanical technical drawings, as well as interaction with mechanical assemblies and interfaces between mechanical systems and subsystems. He is responsible for supporting the Lead Opto-Mechanical Engineer in the delivery of the mechanical and opto-mechanical components and how they interface with the optical components at the MRO Interferometer.	(575) 835 – 5182
Schofield, Ian	Interferometer Software Engineer Ian Schofield joined MRO in 2022 as a software engineer and will be working on the control software for the MROI. In a previous life Ian worked in space physics developing geomagnetic instrumentation and managing a major ground-based magnetometer network.

Cambridge University

Barrios, Paolo	Graduate student (Cambridge) Paolo Barrios is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge and has contributed to the MROI project since 2023. His PhD focuses on commissioning FOURIER, MROI’s first-generation science beam combiner. He led the instrument’s final upgrades and testing in Cambridge before supporting its installation and commissioning at MROI. He is currently studying FOURIER’s detector performance and using FOURIER to characterise the local atmosphere.
Buscher, David	Interferometer System Architect (Cambridge) David Buscher helped to set up the collaboration between the University of Cambridge and New Mexico Tech to build the MROI in 2002. He is System Architect for MROI (jointly with Chris Haniff), responsible for the overall system design of the MROI and for technical oversight of the project. He is also a lecturer at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, where he teaches physics and astronomy courses, and does research in optical interferometry and adaptive optics. Professional website	(575) 835 – 6964 (+44) (0)1223 337 302
Haniff, Chris	Interferometer System Architect (Cambridge) Chris Haniff heads the Optical Interferometry sub-group at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK and has worked on the MROI since 2002 when New Mexico Tech’s collaboration with the University of Cambridge to develop an ambitious optical/infrared imaging interferometer was initiated. Together with David Buscher, he is one of the two System Architects for the MROI, responsible for its overall system design and oversight of its technical delivery. He is a Professor of Physics at the Cavendish and is a fellow of Downing College, Cambridge. Professional website	(575) 835 – 6964 (+44) (0)1223 337 307
Pedroni, Barbara	Graduate student (Cambridge) Barbara Pedroni is a PhD student in the Optical Instrumentation Group at the Cavendish Astrophysics Department, University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the Fast Tip-Tilt system of MROI, including the development and testing of closed-loop control algorithms and image-centroid estimation methods. She completed her Master’s degree in Applied Physics at Delft University of Technology.
Seneta, Eugene (Bodie)	Senior Research Associate (Cambridge) Bodie Seneta is an instrumentation scientist at Cambridge University and has been involved with the MROI project since 2003. His current focus is development and commissioning of the MROI delay line, fast tip-tilt system and first-light beam combiners. His research interests include array detectors, computer-instrumentation interfacing and hard real time servo control systems.
Young, John	Senior Research Associate (Cambridge) John Young works as a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, and has collaborated on the MROI Project since 2003. Dr. Young leads the fast tip-tilt work package at Cambridge and acts as point-of-contact with MROI staff for all software matters. His research interests include distributed real-time control systems, optical synthesis imaging and the physics of evolved stars.	(575) 835 – 6964 (+44) (0)1223 337 347

2.4-meter Telescope

Ryan, Eileen	Director, 2.4-meter Telescope Eileen Ryan joined MRO in 2002. As Director of the 2.4-meter Telescope, Dr. Ryan manages its technical, financial, and operational activities, and leads the development of scientific and military initiatives. She is the Principal Investigator of a NASA-funded Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) program and Co-Principal Investigator (with William Ryan) of an NSF-funded program to determine spin rates of NEOs.	(575) 835 – 6803
Ryan, William	2.4-meter Telescope Scientist William Ryan joined MRO in 2003. As Research Scientist for the 2.4-meter Telescope, Dr. Ryan conducts observationally-based research on objects in the Solar System (both natural and artificial), and provides scientific support for planning and development. He also tests/monitors the performance of the telescope, camera instruments, and software, and contributes to their improvement via new designs and approaches.	(575) 835 – 6646

NESSI


Creech-Eakman, Michelle	Interferometer Project Scientist/NESSI Principal Investigator Michelle Creech-Eakman is a Professor of Physics at NMT and has been the Project Scientist for MROI since 2003. She also serves on several panels and organizing committees including those for SPIE, NASA and NSF. Professional website	(575) 835 – 6756 (575) 835 – 5809
Salcido, Chris	Interferometer Lead Opto-Mechanical Engineer Chris Salcido joined MRO in 2007 as an undergraduate mechanical engineering student at New Mexico Tech (NMT) and became a full time Mechanical Engineer after graduating with his B.S. degree in 2008. He is currently the lead engineer for the Vacuum System.	(575) 835 – 6947

Facilities, Site & Infrastructure

Giron, Jesse

Assistant Site Technician/Langmuir Site Manager

Jesse Giron assists in maintaining the road to MRO and the facilities in general, along with various other projects.

Education & Outreach

Student Employees

Frothington, David

Graduate Research Assistant

MROI employee David Frothingham staff photo

David Frothingham is a Ph.D. student at New Mexico Tech studying evolved stars with optical/near IR interferometry. He started working for MROI in 2022. He is part of the team developing the data reduction pipeline for FOURIER, MROI’s first science beam combiner.