People Biography
Thomas Jarrett
Staff Scientist
Projects: 2MASS, IRAC-IST, WISE
 Dr. Jarrett, a native Californian, joined the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) in 1991 after completing his BA in Physics from Pomona College and a PhD in astrophysics at the University of Massachusetts. During his tenure at IPAC, Jarrett has performed hardware instrumentation, software engineering, and scientific research across a wide range of fields in astronomy. He assisted in developing a near-infrared camera system for the Hale 200" Telescope of the Palomar Observatory, conducting research on young stellar objects, star formation regions and nearby galaxies.

In 1994 he joined the Two-micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) and was charged with detecting, characterizing and cataloging extended sources. Using the 2MASS 'galaxy' catalogs, Jarrett has conducted research in the large scale structure that comprises the local universe. In 2003, he then joined the Spitzer Legacy teams "SINGS" and "SWIRE", focusing his research on star formation in low-redshift galaxies. Participating in and/or leading a number of Spitzer GO projects, Jarrett has studied interacting galaxies (notably the "Tadpole Galaxy"), clusters and large scale structure (notably the "Great Attractor"), and the most massive HI galaxy in the local universe (aka "The Coelacanth Galaxy").

Since 1999, Jarrett has also served in a teaching role as an adjunct professor at Pomona College, creating the course "Life in the Universe", while also serving as an adviser to senior undergraduate students. Jarrett is a participating member of the Spitzer IRAC Instrument Science Team, and is the cognizant software engineer for the WISE aperture photometry system. He is also a member of the Anglo-Australian Observatory Users Committee, and frequently travels to his favorite country Australia to work with his colleagues 'down under'.