Christopher Groppi
Professor,
School of Earth and Space Exploration
-
Phone: 480-965-6436
-
Fax: 480-965-8102
-
ISTB4 Room 697 781 Terrace Rd. PO Box 876004 Tempe, AZ 85287
-
-
Long Bio
Christopher Groppi is an experimental astrophysicist interested in the process of star and planet formation and the evolution and structure of the interstellar medium. His current research focuses on the design and construction of state of the art terahertz receiver systems optimized to detect the light emitted by molecules and atoms in molecular clouds, the birthplace of stars. Development of multi-pixel imaging arrays of terahertz spectrometers is a key technology for the advancement of astrophysics in this wavelength regime. Professor Groppi is participating in several research efforts to develop advanced terahertz imaging arrays for ground based and suborbital telescopes. He also applies terahertz technology developed for astrophysics to a wide range of other applications including Earth and planetary science remote sensing, hazardous materials detection and applied physics.
Education
- Ph.D. Astronomy, minor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Arizona 2003
- B.A. Astronomy (with honor), Cornell University 1997
Research Website URL
Google Scholar URL
Research Interests
Christopher Groppi is an experimental astrophysicist interested in the process of star and planet formation and the evolution and structure of the interstellar medium. His current research focuses on the design and construction of state of the art terahertz receiver systems optimized to detect the light emitted by molecules and atoms in molecular clouds, the birthplace of stars. Development of multi-pixel imaging arrays of terahertz spectrometers is a key technology for the advancement of astrophysics in this wavelength regime. Dr. Groppi is participating in several research efforts to develop advanced terahertz imaging arrays for ground based and suborbital telescopes. He also applies terahertz technology developed for astrophysics to a wide range of other applications including Earth and planetary science remote sensing, hazardous materials detection and applied physics.
Publications
- Christopher E. Groppi, Brian Love, Matthew Underhill, Christopher Walker. Automated CNC Micromachining for Integrated THz Waveguide Circuits. Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (2010).
- Christopher Groppi, Christopher Walker, Craig Kulesa, Dathon Golish, Jenna Kloosterman, Sander Weinreb, Glenn Jones, Joseph Barden, Hamdi Mani, Tom Kuiper, Jacob Kooi, Art Lichtenberger. Testing and Integration of Supercam, a 64-Pixel Array Receive for the 350 GHz Atmospheric Window. Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (2010).
- Drouet d’Aubigny, C., Walker, C., Young, A., Gensheimer, P, Golish, D, Groppi, C. Terahertz traveling wave tube amplifiers as high-power local oscillators for large heterodyne receiver arrays. Proc. SPIE 7741 (2010).
- E. Robert Kursinski, Abram Young, Angel Otarola, Michael Stovern, Brian Wheelwright, Dale Ward, Kate Sammler, Robert Stickney, Christopher Groppi, Sarmad Al Banna, Michael Schein, Steve Bell, Willy Bertiger, Mark Miller, Herb Pickett. Laboratory and Ground Testing Results from ATOMMS: the Active Temperature, Ozone and Moisture Microwave Spectrometer. Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology, (2010).
- Groppi, C.E., Navarrini, A. & Chattopadhyay, G. A waveguide orthomode transducer for 385-500 GHz. Proc. SPIE 7741 (2010).
- Groppi, C.E., Walker, C., Kulesa, C., Golish, D., Kloosterman, J., Weinreb, S., Jones, G., Barden, J., Mani, H., Kuiper, T., Kooi, J., Lichtenberger, A., Cecil, T., Puetz, P., Narayanan, G., Hedden, H. Testing and Integration of Supercam, a 64-Pixel Array Receive for the 350 GHz Atmospheric Window. Proc. SPIE 7741 (2010).
- Tan, B-K., Yassin, G., Grimes, P., Leech, J., Jacobs, K., Withington, S., Tacon, M., & Groppi, C. A 700 GHz unilateral finline SIS mixer fed by a multi-flare angle smooth-walled horn. Proc. SPIE 7741 (2010).
- Walker, C., Kulesa, C., Kloosterman, J., Lesser, D., Cottam, T., Groppi, C., Zmuidzinas, J., Edgar, M., Radford, S., Goldsmith, P., Langer, W., Yorke, H., Kawamura, J., Mehdi, I., Hollenbach, D., Stutzki, J., Huebers, H-W. Gao, J-R., Martin,C. Large format heterodyne arrays for observing far-infrared lines with SOFIA. Proc. SPIE 7741 (2010).
- Walker, C.,Kulesa, C., Bernasconi, P., Eaton, H., Rolander, N., Groppi, C., Kloosterman, J., Cottam, T., Lesser, D., Martin, C., Stark, A., Neufeld, D., Lisse, C., Hollenbach, D., Kawamura, J., Goldsmith, P., Langer, W., Yorke, H., Stern, J., Skalare, A., Mehdi, I., Weinreb, S., Kooi, J., Stutzki, J., Graf, U., Brasse, M., Honingh, C., Simon, R., Akyilmaz, M., Puetz, P., Wolfire, M. The Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory (STO). Proc. SPIE 7733 (2010).
- Goldsmith, Paul F., Carpenter, John, Erickson, Neal, Fisher, Rick, Ford, John, Gaier, Todd, Groppi, Chris, Harris, Andy, Heyer, Mark, Kulesa, Craig, Lawrence, Charles, Morgan, Matt, Mundy, Lee, Narayanan, Gopal, O'Neil, Karen, Readhead, Tony, Samoska, Lorene, Schloerb, Peter, Snell, Ron, Walker, Christopher, Ziurys, Lucy. Coherent Detector Arrays for Millimeter and Submillimeter Astronomy. Astro2010: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (2009).
- Kerr, A. R., Barker, Scott, Bryerton. Eric, Crowe, Tom, Erikson, Neal, Fisher, Rick, Goldsmith, Paul, Gottlieb, Carl, Groppi, Chris, Hesler, Jeffrey, Hunter, Todd, Kerr, Tony, Lichtenberger, Arthur, Narayanan, Gopal, Padin, Steve, Pan, S.-K., Russell, Adrian, Srikanth, S., Thaddeus, Pat, Walker, Chris, Webber, John, Weikle, Bobby, Wootten, Al, Ziurys, Lucy, Zmuidzinas, Jonas. In Support of Instrument Technology Development for THz Astronomy. Astro2010: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (2009).
- A. Hedden, H. Li, E. Tong, S. Paine, R. Blundell, J. Kawamura, C. Groppi, C. Kulesa, C. Walker, G. de Lange, T. Klapwijk, T. Zijlstra, H. Mani, and S. Weinreb. An 800 GHz SIS Receiver for the RLT Incorporating a HIFI Band 3-type Mixer and SiGe LNA. Proceedings of the 20th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (2009).
- C. Walker, C. Kulesa, C. Groppi, E. Young, P. Bernasconi, H. Eaton, N. Rolander, C. Lisse, D. Hollenbach, J. Kawamura, P. Goldsmith, W. Langer, H. Yorke, J. Sterne, A. Skalare, I. Mehdi, S. Weinreb, J. Kooi, J. Stutzki, U. Graf, C. Honingh, P. Puetz, C.L. Martin. A Test Flight Instrument for the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory (STO). Proceedings of the 20th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (2009).
- Christopher Groppi, Christopher Walker, Craig Kulesa, Dathon Golish, Jenna Kloosterman, Sander Weinreb, Glenn Jones, Joseph Barden, Hamdi Mani, Tom Kuiper, Jacob Kooi, Art Lichtenberger, Thomas Cecil, Gopal Narayanan, Patrick Pütz, Abby Hedden. SuperCam: A 64 Pixel Heterodyne Array Receiver for the 350 GHz Atmospheric Window. Proceedings of the 20th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (2009).
- Christopher Groppi, E. Robert Kursinski, Dale Ward, Aangel Otarola, Kate Sammler, Michael Schein, Sarmad Al Banna, Brian Wheelwright, Steve Bell, Willy Bertiger, Mark Miller, and Herb Pickett. ATOMMS: the Active Temperature, Ozone and Moisture Microwave Spectrometer. Proceedings of the 20th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (2009).
- P.K. Grimes, M.J.R. Brock, C.M. Holler, J. John, M.E. Jones, O.G. King, J. Leech, A.C. Taylor, G. Yassin, K.Jacobs, and C. Groppi. GUBBINS: A Novel Millimeter-Wave Heterodyne Interferometer. Proceedings of the 20th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (2009).
- Sarmad. H. AlBanna, Chris Groppi, Chris Walker, Michael Schein, Steve Bell, Brian Wheelwright, Christian Drouet d'Aubigny, Abram Young, Dathon Golish, E. Robert Kursinski, Angel Otarola, Dale Ward, Kate Sammler, Willy Bertiger, Mark Miller, Herb Pickett. A Single 30 cm Aperture Antenna Design for the Operation of 2 Widely Separated Frequency Bands for the Active Temperature, Ozone and Moisture Microwave Spectrometer (ATOMMS). Proceedings of the 20th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (2009).
Research Activity
- Mauskopf,Philip*, Mauskopf,Philip*, Groppi,Christopher E. Collaborative Research: Polarization Sensitive Multi-Chroic MKIDs. NSF-MPS-AST(8/1/2015 - 7/31/2017).
- Groppi,Christopher E*. Reflight of the Strastospheric TeraHertz Observatory: (STO-2) ASU Co-I. NASA-GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CTR(1/16/2014 - 1/15/2017).
- Scowen,Paul Andrew*, Groppi,Christopher E, Mauskopf,Philip, Mauskopf,Philip. Focal Plane Actuation to Achieve Ultra-High Resolution on Suborbital Balloon Payloads. NASA-DRYDEN FLIGHT RESRCH CTR(11/4/2013 - 11/3/2015).
- Groppi,Christopher E*. 2 GaN 180D waveguide doubler blocks. JPL(7/24/2013 - 9/4/2013).
- Mauskopf,Philip*, Mauskopf,Philip*, Groppi,Christopher E. Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope - BLAST. UNIV OF PENNSYLVANIA(6/1/2013 - 5/31/2018).
- Groppi,Christopher E*. WR4 waveguide OMT. DOD-ARL(3/7/2013 - 8/16/2013).
- Groppi,Christopher E*. The GUSSTO (Galactic/Extragalactic Ultra-long-duration Spectroscopic Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory ) mission- Phase A concept study. UNIV OF AZ(12/28/2011 - 2/28/2013).
- Groppi,Christopher E*. A Pathfinder Instrument for Kilopixel Heterodyne Array Receivers. NSF-MPS(7/15/2010 - 1/31/2015).
- Groppi,Christopher E*. Ultra-High Precision Micromaching for Coherent Array Receivers. CA INST OF TECHNOLOGY(4/26/2010 - 1/31/2012).
Courses
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 599 | Thesis |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 493 | Honors Thesis |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 410 | Senior Exploration Project I |
| SES 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SES 510 | Grad Exploration Project I |
| SES 792 | Research |
2025 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 405 | Explo Systems Engineering |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 598 | Special Topics |
| SES 493 | Honors Thesis |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| SES 795 | Continuing Registration |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 599 | Thesis |
| SES 692 | Research |
2024 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 405 | Explo Systems Engineering |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 598 | Special Topics |
| SES 493 | Honors Thesis |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| SES 795 | Continuing Registration |
| SES 592 | Research |
| SES 599 | Thesis |
| SES 191 | First-Year Seminar |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 494 | Special Topics |
| SES 502 | Exploring SESE Research |
2023 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 493 | Honors Thesis |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 410 | Senior Exploration Project I |
| SES 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| SES 692 | Research |
2022 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 411 | Senior Exploration Project II |
| EEE 590 | Reading and Conference |
| SES 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 410 | Senior Exploration Project I |
| SES 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2021 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2021 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SES 411 | Senior Exploration Project II |
| SES 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SES 799 | Dissertation |
| SES 692 | Research |
| SES 792 | Research |
| SES 484 | Internship |
Service
- Search committee for Experimental Cosmology faculty position, Member (2010 - Present)
- Performance Evaluation Committee, Member (2010 - 2013)
- 22nd International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology, Local Organizing Committee (2009 - 2011)