Ray H. O’Neal
- MIT Sponsors:
- Enectali Figuero-Feliciano, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
- Department of Physics
Through our scientific and technological genius, we've made of this world a neighborhood. And now through our moral and ethical commitment, we must make of it a brotherhood.
Background
Ray O’Neal, Jr. is an associate professor of physics at Florida A&M University, where he directs the AstroParticle and Cosmic Radiation Detector Research and Development Laboratory (APCR-DRDL) and is co-principal investigator for FAMU’s NSF CREST Center for Astrophysical Science and Technology. He earned his PhD in physics (1995, Solar Physics/X-Ray Astronomy) at Stanford University. He holds an SB in physics (1986) from MIT.
Interests
O’Neal’s research centers on materials, detectors, systems and instrumentation for observational astrophysics, astrophysical data analysis, and computational astrophysics. As staff astrophysicist of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, he worked on the Ultra Violet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) instrument on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observer (SOHO) spacecraft—a joint NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) mission to study the astrophysics of the sun and the nature of the sun–earth space environment.
O’Neal’s research as an MLK visiting professor focused on developing high-resolution microcalorimeter X-Ray imaging rocket (Micro-X) instrumentation. In addition, he collaborated with Professor Enectali Figuero-Feliciano to start a Saturday “Open House” aimed at fostering interest in STEM among underrepresented students from local high schools and middle schools.