Education & Work Experience:

Sep. 1998 -- ~Nov. 2003: Ph.D. program, UCLA Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Thesis advisor: Dr. Rick Edelson
Thesis topic: Long-Term Hard X-ray Variability in Seyfert~1 Galaxies
Advanced to candidacy, Oct. 2001

Defended dissertation on 24 Oct 2003; will likely file by approx. 7 Nov 2003 Jun. 2000: M.S. Astronomy, UCLA

Jul. 1996 -- Aug. 1998: Data Analyst, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM

May 1996: A.B. Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley

Research Experience:

Graduate Research Assistant, UCLA Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, 1999--present:
Undertook hard X-ray timing and spectral analysis of Seyfert~1 galaxies on long-term monitoring data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. Constructed RXTE data reduction pipeline to produce orbitally-binned light curves for both our group's proprietary and public archival data. Performed time series analysis including broadband power spectral densities, variability amplitude studies X-ray-optical/UV and intra-X-ray temporal correlations. Explored links between Seyferts and X-ray Binaries via X-ray variability. Related X-ray variability properties to Seyfert black hole mass estimates. Peformed spectral fitting of Seyfert~1 RXTE data; analyzed time-resolved spectral variability in Seyfert~1 galaxies including rapid Fe K$\alpha$ line variability investigations and RMS spectra.

Research at National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 1997-1998:
Undertook directed research consisting of multi-band VLA follow-up imaging of faint, extended object uncovered in NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and VLBA fringe-finder tests on bright point sources.

UCLA Graduate Division Awards

2002--2003 Dissertation Year Fellowship

1998--2002 Eugene Cota Robles Fellowship

Refereed Publications:

An RXTE Survey of Long-Term X-ray Variability in Seyfert 1 Galaxies, Alex Markowitz & Rick Edelson, 2001, ApJ, 547, 684. (astro-ph/0009422)
X-ray Power Density Spectrum of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Akn 564, Ken Pounds, Rick Edelson, Alex Markowitz, Simon Vaughan, 2001, ApJ, 550, L15. (astro-ph/0101542)
High Temporal Resolution XMM-Newton Monitoring of PKS 2155-304, Rick Edelson, Gareth Griffiths, Alex Markowitz, Steve Sembay, Martin Turner, Robert Warwick, 2001, ApJ, 554, 274. (astro-ph/0102458)
X-ray Spectral Variability and Rapid Variability of the Soft X-ray Spectrum Seyfert 1 Galaxies Ark 564 and Ton S180, Rick Edelson, T. Jane Turner, Ken Pounds, Simon Vaughan, Alex Markowitz, Herman Marshall, Paul Dobbie, Robert Warwick, 2002, ApJ, 568, 610 (astro-ph/0108387)
Complex X-ray Spectral Variability in Mkn 421 observed with XMM-Newton, Steve Sembay, Rick Edelson, Alex Markowitz, Gareth Griffiths, Martin Turner, 2002, ApJ, 574, 634. (astro-ph/0204179)
X-ray vs. Optical Variations in the Seyfert 1 Nucleus NGC 3516: A Puzzling Disconnectedness, Dani Maoz, Alex Markowitz, Rick Edelson and Kirpal Nandra, AJ, 124, 1988. (astro-ph/0207446)
X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert~1 Galaxies, Alex Markowitz, Rick Edelson, Simon Vaughan, Phil Uttley, Ian George, Richard Griffiths, Shai Kaspi, Andy Lawrence, Ian McHardy, Kirpal Nandra, Ken Pounds, James Reeves, Nick Schurch and Robert Warwick, 2003, ApJ, 593, 96. (astro-ph/0303273)
Correlated long-term optical and X-ray variations in NGC 5548, Phil Uttley, Rick Edelson, Ian McHardy, Brad Peterson and Alex Markowitz, 2003, ApJ, 584, L53(astro-ph/0301216)
Long-Term X-ray Spectral Variability in Seyfert 1 Galaxies, Alex Markowitz, Rick Edelson & Simon Vaughan, 2003, ApJ, accepted
(astro-ph/0308312)

Conference Contributions:

An RXTE Survey of Long-Term X-ray Variability in Active Galaxies (poster presentation), Alex Markowitz & Rick Edelson, Proceedings of Conference "Rossi2000: Astrophysics with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer," 2000 March 22-24, Greenbelt, MD, p. E38
Ton S180, Jane Turner et. al., 2000, in "Probing the Physics of Active Galactic Nuclei by Multiwavelength Monitoring," ASP Conference Series, Vol. 224, eds. B. M. Peterson, R. S. Polidan, & R. W. Pogge, p. 303
High Temporal Resolution XMM/Newton Monitoring of PKS 2155-304, Rick Edelson, Gareth Griffiths, Steve Sembay, Martin J. L. Turner, Alex Markowitz, Robert Warwick & XMM-Newton EPIC Instrument Team, 2000, BAAS, 197, 125.07
A Comprehensive RXTE Database of AGN Variability (poster presentation), Alex Markowitz, Rick Edelson & Simon Vaughan, 2001, in ``X-ray Emission from Accretion onto Black Holes,'' Proceedings of a joint workshop held by the Center for Astrophysics (Johns Hopkins University) and the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics (NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center) in Baltimore, MD, June 20-23, 2001, eds.: T. Yaqoob and J. H. Krolik, http://www.pha.jhu.edu/groups/astro/workshop2001/
X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert~1 Galaxies, Alex Markowitz et al., 2002, BAAS, 200, 17.03
X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert~1 Galaxies (poster presentation), Alex Markowitz et al., 2003, Carnegie Observatories Astrophysics Series, Vol. 1: Coevolution of Black Holes and Galaxies, ed. L. C. Ho (Pasadena: Carnegie Observatories, http://www.ociw.edu/ociw/symposia/series/symposium1/proceedings.html)