David Teyssier

ESA  Herschel Instrument and Calibration Scientist (HIFI)

After working for 2 years as Astronome of Duty at the IRAM 30-m 
telescope in Granada, I started a PhD in Paris on the calibration
of the  HIFI instrument. I followed-up this activity during a
2-year postdoc at SRON-Groningen, PI institute of the HIFI
instrument, where I have been involved in all instrument prototype
qualifications. In July 2005, I joined ESA and the Herschel
Science Centre to continue supporting the HIFI instrument
pre-flight calibration and contribute to the preparation of the
operations centre.

My original scientific interest is the study of the early stages
of massive star formation in very dark clouds. This started by the
study of molecular emission at millimetre and sub-millimetre
wavelenght of massive clouds origianlly discovered by ISOCAM. I
then focussed more specifically on the astro-chemistry of the
Interstellar Medium, and included regions of low-mass star
formation and AGB circum-stellar envelopes. One of my favorite
objects (a sort of "pet source"...) is the  beautiful Horsehead
nebula, which I'm trying to study at any possible wavelength.

Currently I'm involved in future Key Projects to be conducted on 
Herschel, with a main focus on the HIFI instrument, but I'm also 
preparing for the overwhelming capabilities of ALMA, the
sub-millimetre interferometre in Chile.