Robert J. Barber

Bob in relaxed mood.

• Bob retired in July 2013 from:
• Department of Physics and Astronomy,
  University College London,
  London, WC1E 6BT.
• rjb(AT) star.ucl.ac.uk
  
• bob.barber(AT)btinternet.com
Post-Doctoral Research: Production of a high accuracy line list for ammonia from first quantum mechanical priciples. Required for a variety of astronomical applications, including modelling the atmospheres of ultracool brown dwarfs. Funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant Oct 2006 - Sep 2009.
• Observing and modelling cometary spectra using the BT2 water line list and other UCL molecular line lists. Funded by STFC April 2009 - March 2012
• Member of the team involved in computing ro-vibrational molecular line lists from first quantum mechanical principles for the ExoMol (Molecular line lists for exoplanet and other atmospheres) project. ExoMol is headed by Prof. Jonathan Tennyson. Bob was funded by the European Research Council. From May 2011, during which time he worked on theammonia, methane and hydrgen cyanide/isocyanide molecules
• Committes etc:
• Whilst at UCL The University Governing Council, Finance Committee, Academic Board, Academic Committee, Academic Senior Common Room Committee (Acting Chair); In addition he continues to be a member of the Board of Trustees of UCLU (the Student Union)
• Previous Involvement Outside UCL British School at Athens: Council (continues), Finance Committee
• RAS: Council, Finance Committee.

• Papers:

• Barber R. J., Harris G. J., Tennyson J.
  ‘Temperature dependent partition functions for HCN and HNC’, 2002, J. Chem. Phys., 117, 11239. [Abstract] [PDF]
• Dello Russo N., Mumma M.J., DiSanti, M.A., et al., 'Water hot-band emission in comets near 2.9-microns: A comparison of model predictions and meaurements from ground-based observatories', 2003, DPS, 35.3808
• Dello Russo N., DiSanti M. A., Magee-Sauer K., et al., ‘Water production and release in Comet 153P…and temperature retreival…’, 2004, Icarus, 168, 186. [Abstract] [PDF]
• Jones H. R. A., Pavlenko Y., Viti S., Barber R. J., et al., ‘Carbon Monoxide in low-mass dwarf stars’, 2005, MNRAS , 358, 105. [Abstract] [PDF]
• Dello Russo N., Bolnev P. B., DiSanti M. A., et al.,
  ‘Water production rates, and temperatures in comets C/1999 H1, C/1999 S4 and C/2001 A2’, 2005,
  ApJ., 621, 537. [Abstract] [PDF]
• Coheur P-F., Bernath P. F., Caleer M., Colin R., et al.,
  ‘A 3000K laboratory emission spectrum of water’, 2005, J. Chem. Phys., 122, 074307. [Abstract] [PDF]
• Jones H.R.A, Viti S., Tennyson J., Barber R.J., et al., 'Status of the physics of substellar objects project', 2005, Astron. Nachr., 326, 920
• 

  V838 Monocerotis, click on the image for a large animated version (10MB).

  Banerjee D. P. K., Barber R. J., Ashok N. M., Tennyson J.
  ‘Near infrared water lines in V838 Monocerotis’, 2005,
  ApJL, 627, L141. [Abstract] [PDF]
• Harris G. J., Lynas-Gray A. E., et al., ‘H₃⁺ in cool, very metal poor stars’ Proc. of 13th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars., 2005, Pub. ESA, 623.
• Meech K. J., et al.
  ‘Deep Impact Observations from a ground-based campaign’, 2005, Science, 310, 265. [Abstract] [PDF]
• Barber R. J., Tennyson J., Harris G. J., Tolcehenov R.
  `A high accuracy computed water line list’, 2006,
  MNRAS, 368, 1087. [Abstract] [PDF]
• Barber R.J., Miller S., Stallard T., Tennyson J., `BT2 reveals new distributed source water lines in Comet 9P, not observed in 73P', 2006, EPSC conf., 151 B
• Zobov N. F., Shirin S. V., Polyansky O. L., Barber R. J. et al. `Spectrum of hot water in the 2000-4750 cm<sup>-1</sup> frequency range’, 2006, JMolSpec, 237, 115 [PDF]
• Barber R.J., Miller S., Stallard T.S., Tennyson J., 'Previously unobserved water lines detected in the post-impact spectrum of Comet Tempel 1'., 2006, Springer-Verlag ESO Astrophysical Symposia Series (Deep Impact as a World Observatory Event). ed Kaufl U., Sterken C.
• Barber R. J., Miller S., Stallard T.S., Tennyson J. et al.
  ‘UKIRT Deep Impact observations: light curve, ejecta expansion rates and water spectral features’, 2007,
  Icarus 187, 167. [PDF]
• Lyubchik Y., Jones H. R. A. Pavlenko Y. V., Martin E. et al. `Spectral analysis of high resolution near-infrared spectra of ultra cool dwarfs’, 2007, A&A, 473, 257 [PDF]
• Barber, R. J.; Banerjee, D. P. K.; Ashok, N. M.; Tennyson, J. 'Use of the BT2 Water Line List to Determine the Rotational Temperature and H₂O Column Density of the Circumstellar Envelope on Five Dates.', 2007, ASPC, 363, 95 [PDF]
• Tennyson J., Harris G.J., Barber R.J., LaDelfa S., et al. 'Molecular line lists for modelling the opacity of cool stars', 2007, Mol Phys, 105, 701 [PDF]
• Tinetti G., Vidal-Madjar A., Liang M-C., et al `Water vapour in the atmosphere of a transiting exoplanet', 2007, Nature, 448, 169 [PDF]
• Zobov N.F., Shirin S.V., Ovsyannikov R.I., et al., `Spectrum of hot water in the 4740-13000 cm^-1 wavenumber range', 2008, MNRAS, 387, 1093 [PDF]
• Hodges J.T., Lisak D., Lavrentieva N., et al., `Comparison between theoretical calculations and high-resolution measurements of pressure broadening for near-infrared water spectra' , 2008, JMolSpec, 249, 86 [PDF]
• Barnes J.R., Barman T.S., Jones H.R.A. et al., `HD 179949b: A close orbiting extrasolar giant planet with a stratosphere?', 2008, MNRAS, 390, 1258 [PDF]
• Bykov A.D., Lavrentieva N.N., Mishina T.P., et al., `Water vapor line width and shift calculations with accurate vibration-rotation wave functions', 2008, J.Quant.Spectrosc.Rad.Transf.., 109, 1834 [PDF]
• Viti S., Jones H.R.A., Richter M., J., Barber R.J. et al., `A potential new method for determining the temperature of cool stars', 2008, MNRAS, 388, 1305 [PDF]
• Barber R.J., Miller S., Dello Russo N., Mumma M.J., Tennyson J., Guio P., `Water in the near IR spectrum of Comet 8P/Tuttle', 2009, MNRAS, 398, 1593 [PDF]
• Rothman L.S., Gordon I.E., Barber R.J., Dothe H., et al., `HITEMP, the high-temperature molecular spectroscopic database', 2010, J.Quant.Spectrosc.Rad.Transf., 111, 2139 [PDF]
• Barnes J.R., Barman T.S., Jones H.R.A., Barber R.J., Hansen B.M.S., et al., `A search for molecules in the atmosphere of HD 189733b', 2010, MNRAS,401 445. [PDF]
• Yurchenko S.N., Barber R.J., Yachenev A., Thiel W., Jensen P., Tennyson J., `A variationally computed T=300 K line list for NH₃', 2009, Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 113, 11845 [PDF]
• Tinetti G., Griffith C.A., Swain M.R., Deroo P., Beaulieu J-P, Vashist G., Kippling D., Waldmann I., Tennyson J., Barber R.J., Bouwman J., Allard N., Brown L.R., `Exploring extrasolar worlds: from gas giants to terrestrial habitable planets', 2010, Faraday Discuss. 147 369 [PDF]
• Beaulieu J.-P., Kippling D.M., Batista V., Tinetti G., Ribas I., Carey S., Noriega-Crespo J.A., Griffith C.A., Campanella G., Dong D., Tennyson J., Barber R.J., et al., `Water in HD 209458b's atmosphere from 3.6-8.0 microns, IRAC photometric observations in primary transit', 2010,MNRAS 409, 963 [PDF]
• Barnes J.R., Barman T.S., Jones H.R.A., Leigh C.J., Cameron A.C., Prato L., Barber R.J.`Spectroscopic characterisation of close orbiting extrasolar giant planets', 2009, AIP Conference Proceedings, 1094, 417
• Mitchell, T.R., Welsh W.F., Etzel P.B., Barber R.J., Miller S., Stallard T.S., Tennyson J., `R-band light curve of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact event', 2010, Icarus, 205, 619 [PDF]
• Lucas, P.W., Tinney C.G., Burningham B., Leggett S.K., Pinfield D.J., Smart R., Jones H.R.A, Marocco F., Barber R.J., et al., `Discovery of a very cool, very near brown dwarf in the Galactic plane', 2010, MNRAS, 408, L56
• Beaulieu, J.-P., Tinetti G., Kippling D., Ribas I., Barber R.J., Y.-K. Cho, Polichtchouk I., Tennyson J. et al., `Methane in the atmosphere of the transiting hot Neptune GJ436B?', ApJ, 2011, 731, 16 [PDF]
• Yurchenko S.N., Barber R.J., Tennyson J., `A variationally coputed line list for hot NH<sub>3</sub>', 2011, MNRAS, 413, 1828. [PDF]
• Yurchenko S.N., Barber R.J., Tennyson J., Thiel W., Jensen P., `Towards efficient refinement of molecular potential energy surfaces: Ammonia as a case study', 2011, J.Mol.Spec., 268, 123 [PDF]
• Villanuerva G.L., Mumma M.J., Bonev B.P., Novak R.E., Barber R.J., DiSanti M.A., `Water in planetary and cometary atmospheres: H<sub>2</sub>O and HDO transmittance and fluorescence models',2012, J.Quant.Spec.Rad.Trans, 113,, 201 [PDF]
• Zobov N.F., Shirin S.V., Ovsyannikov R.J., Polyansky O.L., Yurchenko S.N., Barber R.J., Tennyson J., Hargreaves R., Barnath P.F., `Analysis of high temperature ammonia spectra from 780 to 2100 cm^-1, 2011, J. Mol. Spec. 269, 104 [PDF]
• Polinovski G., Pavlenko Ya. V., Tennyson J., Yurchenko S.N., Barber R.J., `Ammonia molecule and its applications in astrophysics', 2011, Adv. Astron. Sp.Sci.2, 17 [PDF]
• Barnes J.R., Jones H.R.A., Barman T.S., Barber R.J., Hansen B.M.S., Prato L., et al., 'Spectroscopic detection and characterisation of planetary atmospheres', 2011, EPJWebofConf.,16, 4001 [PDF]

Shortly after the probe impacted with the surface of Temple 1 during NASA's Deep Impact mission.

• UKIRT July 2005 Comet Tempel 1 –Deep Impact event
• UKIRT April 2006 Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3
• UKIRT Dec 2007-Jan 2008 Comet 8P/Tuttle
• Gemini North Feb 2011

• IoA Cambridge Universtity (2004)
• IoA, John Moores, Liverpool University (2004)
• IoA Edinburgh University (2004)
• Astrophysics Dept. Oxford University (2004)
• Natural History Museum New York (2004)
• NASA Goddard SFC, Washington (2004)
• Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (2004)
• Nottingham University (2005)
• Joint Astronomy Centre, Hawaii (2005)
• Joint Astronomy Centre, Hawaii (2006)
• Universtiy of Dresden (2007)
• Astrophysics Dept. Oxford University (2008)
• Chemistry Dept. York University (2009)
• NASA, Goddard SFC, Washington (2009)

• NAM (2003)
• Cool Star 13, Hamburg (2004)
• NAM (2004)
• Molecular Astrophysics Les Hoches (2005)
• Deep Impact Workshop, St. Goar, (2005)
• V838 Mon Conference, La Palma (2006)
• Deep Impact Conference Brussels, (2006)
• European Planetary Science Congress, Berlin (2006)
• Cool Star 14, Pasadena (2006)

• Molecules in Space and Laboratory, Paris (2007)

• European Planetary Science Congress Potsdam (2007)
• Asteroids, Comets, Meteors, Baltimore (2008)
• Cool Star 15, St Andrews (2008)
• European Planetary Science Congress, Munster (2008)
• NAM (2009),
• High-Resolution Molecular Spectroscopy, Castellammare di Stabia, Italy (2009)

• Open Entrance Scholarship to Birmingham University 1965
• B.Sc. Physics Birmingham University – Upper 2nd Class Hons. 1968
• MSci Astrophysics University College London – First Class Hons 2002
• Ph.D. Astrophysics UCL submitted September 2006. ‘A high-accuracy synthetic water line list: computation and applications’ .

• Stock Exchange professional examinations 1979-82
• Elected Member of London Stock Exchange 1985
• Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment
• Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society

• 1968-1976 Various positions in marketing in UK manufacturing industries.
• 1976-1997 Financial Analyst with: Laing and Cruickshank, Philips and Drew and HSBC, covering UK and Continental European automotive companies.
• Left the city at the age of 50 in order to return to academia.
• Sep 2005-June 2006 PPARC funded Research Assistant at UCL involved in analysing UKIRT spectra of comet Tempel 1 following the‘Deep Impact’ event.
• October 2006 to present: UCL (see above)

• Vintage car hill trials (owns Austin 7 Gordon England)
• Crown green bowls
• Croquet
• Opera
• Foreign travel
• Member of Royal Philatelic Society of London
• Early English Porcelain (Member of Northern Ceramic Circle)
• Arnold Bennett literature (Member of Arnold Bennett Society)
• Miscellaneous collections including: early lead figures, Hornby O Gauge, Meccano modelling, magic tricks

Media:

Personal Review Article May 2007, SII Magazine