David Devine

Assistant Professor

David Devine, PhD, has been an assistant professor in the Physics Department since 2005. He has taught a variety of introductory physics courses at USD as well as two preceptorial courses in introductory astronomy. His primary area of research involves observations of outflows driven by young stars. He is currently focusing on the potential relationship between the cessation of the protostellar outflow phase and planet formation. Devine has been awarded time on a variety of telescopes at the Kitt Peak and Cerro Tololo National Observatories as well as the Hubble Space Telescope.

Education

Ph.D., University of Colorado, Astrophysics
M.S., University of Maryland, Physics
B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, Physics

Scholarly and Creative Work

Devine’s primary area of research is in star formation, and focuses on outflows driven by young stars. His dissertation established the large-scale nature of proto-stellar outflows and their ubiquitous presence in giant molecular clouds. His work is based on data that he has obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope and at observatories located in Arizona, Chile, and Hawaii. His current work is primarily based on observations of star forming regions that were obtained at the Kitt Peak National Observatory with the assistance of three USD students in November, 2006. Devine will be bringing two USD students to Kitt Peak in early 2010 to begin studying the proto-stars that drive outflows and to determine whether the cessation of outflow activity is related to the formation of planets around the host star. Devine is a member of the American Astronomical Society and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Teaching Interests

Devine has taught courses in Introductory Physics and Astronomy as well as upper-divisional Electromagnetism and Astrophysics, and enjoys teaching science and non-science majors alike. He is the primary instructor for Astronomy with Lab, which features a field trip to the Tierra del Sol observing site each semester. Devine participated in the USD Study Abroad program in Guadalajara for two summers, and is developing a new course, Astronomy and the Mayan Culture, in anticipation of a return to Guadalajara.