Short CV of Slavek M. Rucinski

April 2012

DEGREES

MSc, 1965, Warsaw University, Poland: "Eclipsing Binary DI Pegasi; Dr. A. Kruszewski
PhD, 1970, Warsaw University, Poland: "Proximity Effects in Close Binary Systems", Prof. S. Piotrowski
DSc (habilitation), 1974, Warsaw University, Poland: "Contact binary stars of the WUMa-type".

EMPLOYMENT

2009 (June 30): retired; Professor Emeritus
2005-2009, Professor, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto
2004-2005, Associate Professor, Associate Director, David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto
1999-2004, Associate Director (Senior Management Group), David Dunlap Observatory and Associate Professor, University of Toronto
1999 (first half), Observatory Support Scientist, David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto
1997-1998, Resident Astronomer, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation, Hawaii, USA
1988-1997, Senior Scientist, Space Astrophysics Laboratory, ISTS and Adjunct Professor, York University, Toronto
1986-88, Assistant Professor (contractual), Department of Astronomy, University of Toronto
1984-86, Research Officer, David Dunlap Observatory and Visiting Lecturer, University of Toronto
1982-84, Senior Research Associate, University of Cambridge, England, UK,
1980-82, Visiting Scientist, Max-Planck-Inst., Munich, Germany
1979-80, Associate Professor (tenure), Warsaw University Observatory, Poland,
1977-79, Assistant Professor, Warsaw University Observatory, Poland
1975-77, NRC Research Associate, Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Victoria, BC
1971-75, Research Associate, Warsaw University Observatory, Poland
1970-71, Post-doc Fellow, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
1965-70, Research and Teaching Assistant, Warsaw University Observatory

HONOURS

The Alouette Award for the MOST satellite, April 2008; Canadian Astronautical Society
Professorial Nomination, September 1982; President of Poland
Award for Research, December 1979, Department of Mathematics, Physcis and Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences
Award for Research Paper, October 1977; Warsaw University

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

President of the IAU Comm.42, Close Binary Stars, Prague, 2006 - 2009
Vice-president IAU Comm.42, Close Binary Stars, Sydney, 2003 - 2006
Member of the Scientific Organizing Committee of the IAU Symp. 240, Binary Stars as Critical Tools & Tests in Contemporary Astrophysics, Prague 2006
Member of the Scientific Organizing Committee of the IAU Colloquium, Close Binaries in the 21-st Century: New Opportunities and Challenges, Greece 2005
Member of the NSF Grant Allocation Panel "Evolution of Stars", 2001
Member of JSSA: Joint Subcommittee on Space Astronomy (Canadian Space Agency and CASCA), 1993 - 1996. Chair of JSSA, 1995 - 1997
Member of the Cool Stars Panel, Hubble Space telescope Time Allocation Committee, Cycle 4, Space Telescope Sci. Inst., 1993
Member of the Scientific Organizing Committee of the IAU Colloquium Binary Stars in Stellar Clusters, Calgary, 1995
Member of the CFHT Time Allocation Committee, 1990 - 1992
Member of the Scientific Organizing Committee of the IAU Coll.130: The Sun and Cool Stars: Activity, Magnetism, Dynamos; Helsinki, 1990
Member of the Scientific Organizing Committee of the IAU Joint Discussion: Evolution of close binary stars, IAU Gen. Assembly, Baltimore, MD, 1988
Member of the Scientific Organizing Committee of the IAU Symposium No. 118: Instrumentation and Research Programmes for Small Telescopes, Christchurch, New Zealand 1985
Member of the Local Organizing Committee of the NATO Advanced Study Institute: Interacting Binaries, Cambridge, UK, 1983
Member of the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA), starting 1985
Member of the Board of Directors, CASCA, 1992 - 1995
Senior Research Scholar, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, 1982 - 1984
Member of the International Astronomical Union, starting 1973, member of IAU Comm.42, Close Binary Stars
Member of the Polish Astronomical Society, starting 1965

ACADEMIC HISTORY

INTERESTS AND PLACES

After obtaining a MSc in 1965 on a study of a light curve of the binary DI Peg using Dr. A. Kruszewski's data, I collaborated with Dr. K. Serkowski and worked on stellar light polarization (mostly circum-stellar). When he left country-region in 1967, I changed my interest and worked on various proximity effects in very close binary systems (illumination and reflection, distortions, mass transfer, illuminated model atmospheres) which resulted in my PhD Thesis in 1970 under Prof. S. Piotrowski.

In 1970, I took one year Post-Doctoral position in Gainesville, Florida where - after the previous Polish exposure to Algol programmed computers - I learned Fortran and wrote one of the first light-curve-synthesis programs for contact binaries. Then I returned to Poland for 4 years. During the stay in the DAO Victoria as a NRC research associate (1975/77), I learned practical aspects of the stellar spectroscopy and published several papers on chromospherically active stars. I also started using astronomical satellites (OAO-2, ANS, OAO-3).

In 1977 - 1980, I was employed as an Associate and then Assistant Professor at the Warsaw University Observatory. My first (of many) IUE satellite projects were done during the stay at the Max-Planck-Institute in Munich, Germany (1980 - 1982), and in Cambridge, UK (1982 - 1984). In the meantime, perhaps as an incentive for our return, I was nominated a professor at the Warsaw University and was granted tenure in 1982.

We immigrated to Canada in 1984, after I was hired to UBC, Vancouver to work on a large Canadian-US_Australian satellite project "Starlab". This project lost funding when we were in the process of immigration so we moved to Toronto instead. I worked at the Toronto University on contracts for a few years. When Ontario Centre of Excellence, the Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science (ISTS) was created, I moved there and worked for the next 10 years (1987 - 1997) until a rather abrupt closure of this institute. However, my time at ISTS was not lost since this is where the idea of the MOST satellite was conceived and applied for to the CSA (1997). The approval came after the closure of ISTS (!) when - in search of employment - I moved to Hawaii (CFHT). Paradoxically, MOST satellite may be considered one of few tangible achievements of ISTS.

In 1999, I took the position of astronomer and later Associate Director of the David Dunlap Observatory which I held until its closure in 2008. I actively continued in the MOST Science team.

In the spring of 2003, I was approached by the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies to design a nano-satellite for astronomy. This led to the satellite BRITE. Altogether, six satellites were build by Austria, Poland and Canada and launched in 2013 - 2014. The BRITE Constellation was designed to fill the niche of precise photometry of bright stars: their photometry is the least consistent now yet they are the easiest for spectroscopic follow up studies.

RESEARCH AWARDS

NSERC, 2012 - 2017, 5 years, Discovery grant, $32,000/year
CSA, 2007-2010, 3 years, Post-Doctoral Fellowship position, MOST satellite data, $50,000/year
NSERC, 2005-2011, 5 years (over 7 years, Discovery grant, Univ. of Toronto, $26,900/year
CSA, 2005, Concept Study "CMS/CCD for BRITE", Univ. of Toronto, $30,000
NATO, 2002-2004, 2 years, PDF position, research in binary stars at DDO, $35,000/year
NSERC, 2000-2005, 5 years, Univ. of Toronto, $25,000/year
NSERC, 2000, instrument grant, Univ. of Toronto, $30,600, CCD system for DDO
NSERC, 1996-2000, 5 years, York Univ., $28,000/year
CSA grant for the Concept Study, 1996/1997, $82,000; not a research grant as the rest but to pay my part-time salary at ISTS.
NSERC, 1992-1996, 4 years, York Univ., $25,000/year
NSERC, 1989-1992, 3 years, York Univ., $30,000/year
NSERC, 1987-1990, 3 years, Univ. of Toronto, $30,000/year
Connaught, 1987-89, 2 years, Univ. of Toronto, $14,000 (new faculty)
NSERC, 1988, 1 year, Univ. of Toronto, $10,000 (super-computer use)

UNIVERSITY COURSES

Warsaw University, 1975 - 1980, undergraduate level: Observational Astrophysics, Stellar Atmospheres, Stellar Interiors.

York University, 1988 - 1990; graduate level: Stellar Interiors.

University of Toronto, 1985 - 1987, undergraduate level, various courses

University of Toronto, 1999 - 2008, undergraduate level: Research Topics in Astronomy, Topical Astrophysics, several individual research projects, Life on other Worlds.
Graduate level: Physics of stars, Graduate Student Seminar, individual research projects (see below).

SUPERVISION/ADVISING/SUPPORT

University of Toronto, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics:
Post-Doctoral Fellows: A. Udalski (1988 - 1990), W. Pych (2002 - 2004), T. Pribulla (2007 - 2008), M. Siwak (2008 - 2010), G.Whittaker (2013 - 2015).

University of Toronto, SFL-UTIAS:
MSc program: M. Chaumont (2011 - 2013), Seung-Yun (Susan) Choi (2013 - 2015)

Warsaw University Observatory
PhD Thesis defense: A. Schwarzenberg-Czerny, 1980.

York University
PhD Thesis defense, M. Blake, 2002
MSc thesis defense, Jun Shi, 1994.

Warsaw University Observatory, 1977 - 1980):
MSc Theses: J. Kaluzny, A. Udalski, E. Bohusz, J. Medza, A. Przypkowska, M. Staniucha.

University of Toronto, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics:
Undergraduate research projects: Y. Liokumovich, P. Nef, C. Capobianco
Graduate research projects: E. Harper-Clark, E. Mentuch.

University of Toronto, David Dunlap Observatory, participants of the close binary star program (other than Post-Docs): G. Conidis, C. Capobianco, J. Daszynska-Daszkiewicz, K. Kaminski, A. Majewska, W. Ogloza, B. Pilecki, P. Rogoziecki, G. Stachowski, K. Gazeas, L. Kiss, M. Vandenberg).