Faculty | John J. Salzer

Professor, Department Chair
Ph.D.Astronomy, University of Michigan, 1987

Contact Information:

Astronomy Department
Indiana University
Swain West 408
727 East Third Street
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: (812) 855-6175
Fax: (812) 855-8725
Email: slaz [at] astro.indiana.edu

Biographical Information:

Dr. Salzer joined the IU Astronomy faculty in 2007. He previously was a professor and department chair at Wesleyan University. Prior to starting at Wesleyan, he completed research post-docs at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico (1987-1989) and at the National Optical Astronomy Observatories in Tucson, AZ (1989-1991). He earned his undergraduate degree from Coe College (Cedar Rapids, IA), an M.S. in Physics from Iowa State University, and his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Michigan. He has served on numerous committees and panels, and was bestowed with a Presidental Faculty Fellow Award by President Clinton in 1995.

Research Interests

Professor Salzer has broad research interests in the area of extragalactic astronomy. His current research focuses are in the area of abundances in galaxies and star-formation in the nearby universe. His abundance research involves studying the metal content of hundreds of galaxies to understand the demographics of chemical enrichment as well as to measure the evolution of abundances to modest lookback times. His current star-formation studies focus on measuring the rate at which stars are being born in hundreds of nearby gas-rich galaxies, with the goal of carrying out an unbiased census of star formation in the local universe. In addition, he has ongoing interests in Seyfert Galaxies and AGN, Blue Compact Dwarf galaxies, and the spatial distribution of galaxies in the local universe, with an eye toward the affects that galaxian environment plays in shaping the properties of galaxies.

Selected Publications

• The Diverse Infrared Properties of a Complete Sample of Star-forming Dwarf Galaxies
  Rosenberg, J. L., Ashby, M. L. N., Salzer, J. J., & Huang, J.-S. 2006, ApJ, 636, 742.
• The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey. I. Science Goals, Survey Design, and Strategy
  Giovanelli, R., et al. 2005, AJ, 130, 2598.
• Spectroscopy of KISS Emission-Line Galaxy Candidates. IV. KPNO and WIYN Observations
  Salzer, J. J., et al. 2005, AJ, 130, 2584.
• The KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey. V. Halpha-selected Survey List 3
  Jangren, A. et al. 2005, AJ, 130, 2571.
• Spectroscopy of KISS Emission-Line Galaxy Candidates. III. A Second Set of MDM Observations
  Jangren, A., Wegner, G., Salzer, J. J., Werk, J. K., & Gronwall, C. 2005, AJ, 130, 496.
• Metal Abundances of KISS Galaxies. IV. Galaxian Luminosity-Metallicity Relations in the Optical and Near-Infrared
  Salzer, J. J., Lee, J. C., Melbourne, J., Hinz, J. L., Alonso-Herrero, A., & Jangren, A. 2005, ApJ, 624, 661.
• Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies in the Local Universe
  Werk, J. K., Jangren, A., & Salzer, J. J. 2004, ApJ, 617, 1004.
• Metal Abundances of KISS Galaxies. III. Nebular Abundances for Fourteen Galaxies and the Luminosity-Metallicity Relationship for H II Galaxies
  Lee, J. C., Salzer, J. J., & Melbourne, J. 2004, ApJ, 616, 752.
• Spectroscopy of KISS Emission-Line Galaxy Candidates. II. Hobby-Eberly Telescope Observations
  Gronwall, C., Jangren, A., Salzer, J. J., Werk, J. K., & Ciardullo, R. 2004, AJ, 128, 644.
• Radio Continuum Emission at 1.4 GHz from KISS Emission-Line Galaxies
  Van Duyne, J., Beckerman, E., Salzer, J. J., Gronwall, C., Thuan, T. X., Condon, J. J., & Frattare, L. M. 2004, AJ, 127, 1959.
• The KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey. IV. Halpha-selected Survey List 2
  Gronwall, C., Salzer, J. J., Sarajedini, V. L., Jangren, A., Chomiuk, L., Moody, J. W., Frattare, L. M., & Boroson, T. A. 2004, AJ, 127, 1943.
• Metal Abundances of KISS Galaxies. II. Nebular Abundances of 12 Low-Luminosity Emission-Line Galaxies
  Melbourne, J., Phillips, A., Salzer, J. J., Gronwall, C., & Sarajedini, V. L. 2004, AJ, 127, 686.