Dr. Attila Kovacs
Computer Engineer at Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
SPIE Involvement:
Author
Area of Expertise:
data reduction algorithm development , instrument design , submillimeter technologies , data acquisition
Websites:
Profile Summary

I graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in physics, astrophysics, and astronomy in 1997, and received my Ph.D. in physics from Caltech in 2006 in the submillimeter astrophysics group lead by Tom G. Phillips. As a student, I pioneered a novel data reduction approach (CRUSH) and new observing modes (e.g. Lissajous scans) for submillimeter imaging arrays, designed wide-band SIS mixers, and brought the first far-infrared characterization of the submillimeter galaxy (SMG) population. Later, I worked at the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Bonn as post-doc, mentored by Karl Menten, where I was active in the optimization and commissioning of the APEX bolometer cameras LABOCA (and its polarimetry frontend PolKa) and SABOCA and conducted surveys with them. In 2009, I became an independent postdoc at the University of Minnesota, focusing on improving and commissioning the GISMO 2-mm camera for the IRAM 30-m telescope, and innovating the concept of lithographic on-chip spectrometers for the (sub)millimeter. Between 2012 and 2017, I went back to Caltech as a post-doc with Jonas Zmuidzinas, working on SuperSpec and MAKO, and the readout solution for kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs), and built the imaging pipeline for SOFIA/HAWC+. Since 2017 I am the software lead at the the Submillimeter Array (SMA). Beyond the technical work, I am very interested in studying the high-z Universe at mm-wavelengths.
Publications (18)

Proceedings Article | 10 July 2018 Presentation
Jordan Wheeler, Steve Hailey-Dunsheath, Erik Shirokoff, Peter Barry, Charles Bradford, Scott Chapman, George Che, Simon Doyle, Jason Glenn, Sam Gordon, Matthew Hollister, Atilla Kovacs, Henry Leduc, Philip Mauskopf, Ryan McGeehan, Christopher McKenney, Theodore Reck, Joeseph Redford, Colin Ross, Corwin Shiu, Carole Tucker, Jordan Turner, Jonas Zmuidzinas
Proceedings Volume 10708, 107080P (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2314364
KEYWORDS: Spectroscopy, Optical filters, Sensors, Spectroscopes, Resonators, Astronomical imaging, Tin, Galactic astronomy, Spectroscopic atmospheric monitoring techniques

Proceedings Article | 10 July 2018 Presentation
Kirit Karkare, Peter Barry, C. Matt Bradford, Scott Chapman, George Che, Jason Glenn, Sam Gordon, Steven Hailey-Dunsheath, Matthew Hollister, Attila Kovacs, Henry Leduc, Philip Mauskopf, Ryan McGeehan, Chris McKenney, Theodore Reck, Joseph Redford, Erik Shirokoff, Carole Tucker, Jordan Turner, Samantha Walker, Jordan Wheeler, Jonas Zmuidzinas
Proceedings Volume 10708, 107081R (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313786
KEYWORDS: Spectroscopy, Telescopes, Galactic astronomy, Optical filters, Spectrometer engineering, Spectroscopes, Tin, Inductance, Sensors, Control systems

Proceedings Article | 27 July 2016 Paper
J. Wheeler, S. Hailey-Dunsheath, E. Shirokoff, P. Barry, C. Bradford, S. Chapman, G. Che, J. Glenn, M. Hollister, A. Kovács, H. LeDuc, P. Mauskopf, R. McGeehan, C. McKenney, R. O’Brient, S. Padin, T. Reck, C. Ross, C. Shiu, C. Tucker, R. Williamson, J. Zmuidzinas
Proceedings Volume 9914, 99143K (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2233798
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Spectroscopy, Spectroscopes, Galactic astronomy, Optical filters, Prototyping, Sensors, Spectroscopy, Optical filters, Technetium, Resonators, Tomography, Ultraviolet radiation

Proceedings Article | 19 August 2014 Paper
S. Hailey-Dunsheath, E. Shirokoff, P. Barry, C. Bradford, G. Chattopadhyay, P. Day, S. Doyle, M. Hollister, A. Kovacs, H. LeDuc, P. Mauskopf, C. McKenney, R. Monroe, R. O'Brient, S. Padin, T. Reck, L. Swenson, C. Tucker, J. Zmuidzinas
Proceedings Volume 9153, 91530M (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2057229
KEYWORDS: Spectroscopy, Resonators, Tin, Optical filters, Radiation effects, Sensors, Signal attenuation, Prototyping, Photons, Quasiparticles

Proceedings Article | 19 August 2014 Paper
Gordon Stacey, Stephen Parshley, Thomas Nikola, German Cortes-Medellin, Justin Schoenwald, Ganesh Rajagopalan, Michael Niemack, Tim Jenness, Patricio Gallardo, Brian Koopman, Charles Dowell, Peter Day, Matthew Hollister, Attila Kovacs, Henry LeDuc, Christopher McKenney, Ryan Monroe, Hiroshige Yoshida, Jonas Zmuidzinas, Loren Swenson, Simon Radford, Hien Trong Nguyen, Anthony Mroczkowski, Jason Glenn, Jordan Wheeler, Philip Maloney, Spencer Brugger, Joseph Adams, Frank Bertoldi, Reinhold Schaaf, Mark Halpern, Douglas Scott, Galen Marsden, Jack Sayers, Scott Chapman, Joaquin Vieira
Proceedings Volume 9153, 91530L (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2057101
KEYWORDS: Cameras, Galactic astronomy, Sensors, Silicon, Stars, Thin film coatings, Telescopes, Deep reactive ion etching, Surface conduction electron emitter displays, Observatories

Showing 5 of 18 publications
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