Enectali Figueroa

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Dr. Enectalí Figueroa, Ph.D. (born 1972 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico) is an Assistant Professor of Physics at MIT,^[1] astrophysicist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)^[2] who pioneered the development of position-sensitive detectors, and currently an astronaut applicant.

Contents 1 Early years 2 NASA 3 Currently 4 Selected publications 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links

[edit] Early years

Figueroa was born and raised in the city of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, which is located on the western coast of the island. There he received his primary and secondary education. After he graduated from high school, he attended the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez and, in 1995, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering.

[edit] NASA

Figueroa continued his academic studies at Stanford University, earning a Master's degree (1997) and Doctorate (2001) in physics. While studying at Stanford, Figueroa did his dissertation research as a student at the NASA Academy at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, as part of the Science Cooperative Education program. Upon his graduation from Stanford, Figueroa became an astrophysicist for the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Figueroa is the microcalorimeter leader for the Generation-X Vision Mission. He is also a member of the following teams: the Constellation-X facility science team, the Suzaku Observatory science working group, and the X-ray Quantum Calorimeter (XQC) sounding rocket team.

Figueroa pioneered the development of position-sensitive detectors that will provide an order of magnitude more pixels (and thus larger field of view) than traditional single-pixel X-ray microcalorimeters. He has received several NASA awards for the development and demonstration of position-sensitive x-ray microcalorimeters.

On September 2003, Figueroa was interviewed for the position of Astronuat candidate. He served as President of the Sixth Executive Council of the NASA Academy Alumni Association from August 1, 2003 to December 31, 2004.

[edit] Currently

Figueroa continues to be an astrophysicist at the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at the Goddard Space Flight Centera nd is also an Assistant Professor of Physics at MIT. Figueroa is also a volunteer firefighter, a certified diver, member of the Civil Air Patrol and a licensed pilot.

[edit] Selected publications

• "Position-sensitive low-temperature detectors," E. Figueroa-Feliciano. Invited review in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A , 520, pp. 496–501, 2004.

• "Cryogenic Microcalorimeters," M. Galeazzi and E. Figueroa-Feliciano. Contributed chapter in X-ray Spectrometry: Recent Technological Advances , John Wiley & Sons, 2004.

• "Position-sensitive transition edge sensor modeling and results," C. Hammock, E. Figueroa-Feliciano, E. Apodaca, S. Bandler, K. Boyce, J. Chervenak, F. Finkbeiner, R. Kelley, M. Lindeman, S. Porter, T. Saab, and C. Stahle. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A , 520, pp. 505–507, 2004.

[edit] See also

• List of notable Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Ricans in NASA

[edit] Notes

1. ^ MIT Physics Faculty: Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano. Physics Department, MIT. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
2. ^ Dr. Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano. Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.

[edit] External links

• Margarita Santori López (September 15, 2003). "Colegiales en la NASA". Prensa RUM. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.

• NASA Academy Alumni Association. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.