RESOLVE and ECO: Finding Low-Metallicity z~0 Dwarf AGN Candidates Using Optimized Emission-Line Diagnostics. Polimera, M. S., Kannappan, S. J., Richardson, C. T., Bittner, A. S., Ferguson, C., Moffett, A. J., Eckert, K. D., Bellovary, J. M., and Norris, M. A. 2022, ApJ, 931, 44

LADUMA: Discovery of a luminous OH megamaser at z>0.5. Glowacki, M., Collier, J. D., Kazemi-Moridani, A., Frank, B., Roberts, H., Darling, J., Klockner, H.-R., and 61 alphabetical coauthors including Hutchens, Z. L., and Kannappan, S. J. 2022, ApJ Letters, accepted

Optical and JWST Mid-IR Emission Line Diagnostics for Simultaneous IMBH and Stellar Excitation in z~0 Dwarf Galaxies. Richardson, C. T., Simpson, C., Polimera, M. S., Kannappan, S. J., Bellovary, J. M., Greene, C., and Jenkins, S. 2022, ApJ, 927, 165

Void Galaxies Follow a Distinct Evolutionary Path in the Environmental COntext Catalog Florez, J., Berlind, A. A., Kannappan, S. J., Stark, D. V., Eckert, K. D., Calderon, V. F., Moffett, A. J., Campbell, D., and Sinha, M. 2021, ApJ, 906, 97

Linking Compact Dwarf Starburst Galaxies in the RESOLVE Survey to Downsized Blue Nuggets. Palumbo, M. L., Kannappan, S. J., Snyder, E. M., Eckert, K. D., Norman, D. J., Fraga, L., Quint, B. C., Amram, P., Mendes de Oliveira, C., Bittner, A., Moffett, A. J., Stark, D. V., Norris, M. A., Cleaves, N. T., and Carr, D. S. 2020, MNRAS, 494, 4730

Is There a Fundamental Upper Limit to the Mass of a Star Cluster? Norris, M. A., van de Ven, G., Kannappan, S. J., Schinnerer, E., and Leaman, R. 2019, MNRAS, 488, 5400

Addressing the [OIII]/Hbeta Offset of Dwarf Galaxies in the RESOLVE Survey Richardson, C. T., Polimera, M. S., Kannappan, S. J., Moffett, A. J., and Bittner, A., 2019, MNRAS, 486, 3541

The Origin of Faint Tidal Features around Galaxies in the RESOLVE Survey C. E. Hood, S. J. Kannappan, D. V. Stark, I. P. Dell Antonio, A. J. Moffett, K. D. Eckert, M. A. Norris and D. Hendel, 2018, ApJ, 857, 144

The Baryonic Collapse Efficiency of Galaxy Groups in the RESOLVE and ECO Surveys K. D. Eckert, S. J. Kannappan, C. del P. Lagos, A. D. Baker, A. A. Berlind, D. V. Stark, A. J. Moffett, Z. Nasipak, and M. A. Norris, 2017, ApJ, 849, 20

The RESOLVE Survey Atomic Gas Census and Environmental Influences on Galaxy Gas Reservoirs D. V. Stark, S. J. Kannappan, K. D. Eckert, J. Florez, K. R. Hall, L. C. Watson, E. A. Hoversten, J. N. Burchett, D. T. Guynn, A. D. Baker, A. J. Moffett, A. A. Berlind, M. A. Norris, M. P. Haynes, R. Giovanelli, A. K. Leroy, D. J. Pisano, L. H. Wei, R. E. Gonzalez, and V. F. Calderon, 2016, ApJ, 832, 126

RESOLVE and ECO: The Halo Mass-Dependent Shape of Galaxy Stellar and Baryonic Mass Functions K. D. Eckert, S. J. Kannappan, D. V. Stark, A. J. Moffett, A. A. Berlind, and M. A. Norris, 2016, ApJ, 824, 124

The AIMSS Project - III: The Stellar Populations of Compact Stellar Systems. Janz, J., Norris, M. A., Forbes, D., Huxor, A., Romanowsky, A. J., Frank, M. J., Escudero, C. G., Faifer, F. R.; Forte, J. C., Kannappan, S. J., Maraston, C., Brodie, J. P., Strader, J., and Thompson, B. R. 2016, MNRAS, 456, 617

ECO and RESOLVE: Galaxy Disk Growth in Environmental Context. Moffett, A. J., Kannappan, S. J., Berlind, A. A., Eckert, K. D., Stark, D. V., Hendel, D., Norris, M. A., and Grogin, N. A. 2015, ApJ, 812, 89

RESOLVE Survey Photometry and Volume-limited Calibration of the Photometric Gas Fractions Technique. Eckert, K. D., Kannappan, S. J., Stark, D. V., Moffett, A. J., Norris, M. A., Snyder, E. M., and Hoversten, E. A. 2015, ApJ, 810, 166

An Extended Star Formation History in an Ultra Compact Dwarf. Norris, M. A., Escudero, C. G., Faifer, F. R., Kannappan, S. J., Forte, J. C., and van den Bosch, R. C. E. 2015, MNRAS, 451, 3615

A Search for Star Formation in the Smith Cloud. Stark, D. V., Baker, A. D., and Kannappan, S. J. 2014, MNRAS, 446, 1855

The AIMSS Project - II. Dynamical-to-stellar mass ratios across the star cluster-galaxy divide. Forbes, D. A., Norris, M. A., Strader, J., Romanowsky, A. J., Pota, V., Kannappan, S. J., Brodie, J. P., and Huxor, A. 2014, MNRAS, 444, 2993

The AIMSS Project - I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide. Norris, M. A., Kannappan, S. J., Forbes, D. A. Romanowsky, A. J., Brodie, J. P., Faifer, F. R., Huxor, A., Maraston, C., Moffett, A. J., Penny, S. J., Pota, V., Smith-Castelli, A., Strader, J., Bradley, D., Eckert, K. D., Fohring, D., McBride, J., Stark D. V., and Vaduvescu, O. 2014, MNRAS, 443, 1151

Connecting Transitions in Galaxy Properties to Refueling. Kannappan, S. J., Stark, D. V., Eckert, K. D., Moffett, A. J., Wei, L. H., Pisano, D. J., Baker, A. J., Vogel, S. N., Fabricant, D. G., Laine, S., Norris, M. A., Jogee, S., Lepore, N., Hough, L. E., and Weinberg-Wolf, J. 2013, ApJ, 777, 42

The Fueling Diagram: Linking Galaxy Molecular-to-Atomic Gas Ratios to Interactions and Accretion. Stark, D. V., Kannappan, S. J., Wei, L. H., Baker, A. J., Leroy, A. K., Eckert, K. D., Vogel, S. N. 2013, ApJ, 769, 82

The Distance to the Massive Galactic Cluster Westerlund 2 from a Spectroscopic and HST Photometric Study. Vargas Alvarez, C. A., Kobulnicky, H. A., Bradley, D. R.., Kannappan, S. J., Norris, M. A., Cool, R. J., and Miller, B. P. 2013, AJ, 145, 125

The Globular Cluster Kinematics and Galaxy Dark Matter Content of NGC3923. Norris, M. A., Gebhardt, K., Sharples, R. M., Faifer, F. R., Bridges, T., Forbes, D. A., Forte, J. C., Zepf, S. E., Beasley, M. A., Hanes, D. A., Proctor, R., and Kannappan, S. J. 2012, MNRAS, 421, 1485

Extended Ultraviolet Disks and Ultraviolet-Bright Disks in Low-Mass E/S0 Galaxies. Moffett, A. J., Kannappan, S. J., Baker, A. J., and Laine, S. 2012, ApJ, 745, 34

The Ubiquity and Dual Nature of Ultra Compact Dwarfs. Norris, M. A. and Kannappan, S. J. 2011, MNRAS, 414, 739

UCDs as Probes of the Major and Minor Merger Histories of Galaxies. Norris, M. A., and Kannappan, S. J. 2011. In "A Universe of Dwarf Galaxies," 48, 259

Estimating Dwarf Galaxy Masses. Eckert, K. D., Kannappan, S. J., and Norris, M. A. 2011. In "A Universe of Dwarf Galaxies," 48, 301

The Color-Dependent Frequency of XUV Disks in Low-Mass E/S0s. Moffett, A. J., Kannappan, S. J., Baker, A. J., and Laine, S. 2011. In "A Universe of Dwarf Galaxies," 48, 419

The Relationship Between Molecular Gas and Star Formation in Low-Mass E/S0 Galaxies. Wei, L. H., Vogel, S. N., Kannappan, S. J., Baker, A. J., Stark, D. V., Laine, S. 2010. ApJ Letters, 725, L62

The Surface Mass Density and Structure of the Outer Disk of NGC 628. Herbert-Fort, S., Zaritsky, D., Christlein, D., Kannappan, S. J. 2010. ApJ, 715, 902

Gas Mass Fractions and Star Formation in Blue-Sequence E/S0 Galaxies. Wei, L. H., Kannappan, S. J., Vogel, S. N., and Baker, A. J. 2010. ApJ, 708, 841

Extended Light in E/S0 Galaxies and Implications for Disk Rebirth. Moffett, A. J., Kannappan, S. J., Laine, S., Wei, L. H., Baker, A. J., and Impey, C. D. 2010. ASP Conf. Series, 423, 346

Cold Gas in Blue-Sequence E/S0s: Galaxies in Transition. Wei, L. H., Kannappan, S. J., Vogel, S. N., and Baker, A. J. 2010. In ASP Conf. Series, 423, 338

E/S0 Galaxies on the Blue Color-Stellar Mass Sequence at z=0: Fading Mergers or Future Spirals? Kannappan, S. J., Guie, J. M., and Baker, A. J. 2009. AJ, 138, 579

Galaxy Gas Fractions, Characteristic Mass Scales, and the RESOLVE Survey. Kannappan, S. J. and Wei, L. H. 2008. In AIP Conference Proceedings 1035: The Evolution of Galaxies Through the Neutral Hydrogen Window, Eds. R. Minchin and E. Momjian, 163

Systematic Uncertainties in Stellar Mass Estimation for Distinct Galaxy Populations. Kannappan, S. J. and Gawiser, E. 2007. ApJ, 657, L5

New Horizons in Astronomy: Frank N. Bash Symposium 2005. [Conference Proceedings Book: link goes to Table of Contents] Eds. S. J. Kannappan, S. Redfield, J. E. Kessler-Silacci, M. Landriau, N. Drory. 2006. ASP Conference Series 352

SN 2005cg: Explosion Physics and Circumstellar Interaction of a Normal Type Ia Supernova in a Low-Luminosity Host. Quimby, R., Hoeflich, P., Kannappan, S. J., Rykoff, E., Rujopakarn, W., Akerlof, C. W., Gerardy, C. L., Wheeler, J. C. 2006. ApJ, 636, 400

UBVRI Light Curves of 44 Type Ia Supernovae. Jha, S., et al. 2006. AJ, 131, 527

Extending the Search for Counterrotating Gas and Stars in Galaxies: A Study of Late-Type Dwarfs. Guie, J. M., Kannappan, S. J., Balog, Z., and Berlind, P. 2005. In Proceedings of the Ninth Texas-Mexico Conference on Astrophysics. Eds. S. Torres-Peimbert and G. MacAlpine. RevMexAA (Serie de Conferencias), 23, 111

Linking Gas Fractions to Bimodalities in Galaxy Properties. Kannappan, S. J. 2004. [Please print in COLOR.] ApJ, 611, L89

Tools for Identifying Spurious Luminosity Offsets in Tully-Fisher Studies: Application at Low Redshift and Implications for High Redshift. Kannappan, S. J. and Barton, E. J. 2004. AJ, 127, 2694

Forming Young Bulges within Existing Disks: Statistical Evidence for External Drivers. Kannappan, S. J., Jansen, R. A., and Barton, E. J. 2004. AJ, 127, 1371

Photometry and Spectroscopy of GRB 030329 and Its Associated Supernova 2003dh: The First Two Months. Matheson, T., Garnavich, P. M., et al. 2003. ApJ, 599, 394

Interpreting Offsets from the Tully-Fisher Relation. Kannappan, S. J., Barton Gillespie, E., Fabricant, D. G., Franx, M., and Vogt, N. P. 2003. RevMexAA (Serie de Conferencias), 17, 188. In Proceedings of Galaxy Evolution: Theory and Observation. Cozumel, Mexico, April 8-12, 2002. Eds. Avila-Reese, Firmani, Frenk, and Allen

Building a CCD Spectrograph for Educational or Amateur Astronomy. Kannappan, S. J., Fabricant, D. G., and Hughes, C. B. 2002. PASP, 114, 577

Physical Sources of Scatter in the Tully-Fisher Relation. Kannappan, S. J., Fabricant, D. G., and Franx, M. 2002. AJ, 123, 2358

Kinematic Clues to the Formation and Evolution of Galaxies. Kannappan, S. J. 2001. PhD Thesis for the Physics Department, Harvard University

Calibrating Evolution in the Tully-Fisher Relation. Kannappan, S. J., Fabricant, D. G., and Franx, M. 2001. [This paper is being extended to include an analysis of stellar mass fraction evolution in collaboration with N. P. Vogt. Only the pre-extension version is available at this time. For a citable version see my Ph.D. thesis.]

A Broad Search for Counterrotating Gas and Stars: Evidence for Mergers and Accretion. Kannappan, S. J. and Fabricant, D. G. 2001. AJ, 121, 140

Kinematic Asymmetries in a Broad Galaxy Sample. Kannappan, S. J. and Fabricant, D. G. 2001. In ASP Conference Series 230: Galaxy Disks and Disk Galaxies, eds. J. G. Funes and E. M. Corsini, 449

Frequency of Gas-Stellar Counterrotation. Kannappan, S. J. and Fabricant, D. G. 2001. In ASP Conference Series 230: Galaxy Disks and Disk Galaxies, eds. J. G. Funes and E. M. Corsini, 447

The Nearby Field Galaxy Survey: A Spectrophotometric and Photometric Study of Nearby Galaxies. Jansen, R. A. and Kannappan, S. J. 2001. Ap&SS 276, 1151

Rotation Curve Measurement Using Cross-Correlation. Barton, E. J., Kannappan, S. J., Kurtz, M. J., and Geller, M. J. 2000. PASP, 112, 367

NGST NIR Spectrograph Study. Final report of the NGST Near-IR Spectroscopy Panel: D. Axon, J. Frogel, G. Hasinger, L. Hillenbrand, J. Huchra (Chair), G. Illingworth, S. Kannappan, K. Long, S. Satyapal, T. Williams. 1999.

The Type Ia Supernova 1998BU in M96 and the Hubble Constant. Jha, S., et al. 1999. ApJS, 125, 73

Angular Size Measurements of Carbon Miras and S-Type Stars. van Belle, G. T., Dyck, H. M., Thompson, R. R., Benson, J. A., Kannappan, S. J. 1997. AJ, 114, 2150


Talks, Articles, and Activities for the General Public

See also my Outreach page.

Astronomers find hidden trove of massive black holes. EurekAlert science news release about our team's latest research, May 24, 2022.

Truth and Awe in Astronomy. Audio of public talk given at Swinburne University on December 16, 2019. (No video was recorded, but the slides are here.)

Inside a Scientist's Suitcase: Sheila Kannappan. Short video interview of me as part of the "Inside a Scientist's Suitcase" series. Filmed at the January 2018 meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Statewide Star Party: Virtual Skywatching. Featured speaker for virtual star party as part of the UNC Science Expo, April 20, 2021.

Waves across Spacetime. Astronomy-themed interpretive talk for contemporary art exhibit "The Future We Remember" at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC, 2016.

Cosmic Hide and Seek: Tracking Missing and Invisible Matter in the Universe. Slides from talk for the Friday Center "What's the Big Idea?" series. Kannappan, S. J. 2011.

Profile of my past and current work with Teach For America. Teach For America Marketing Team. 2009.

Galaxy Life Stories: Growing Up in a Violent Universe. Slides from talk for the Chapel Hill Amateur Observational Society (CHAOS). Kannappan, S. J. 2009.

The Expanding Universe. Student activity for grades 9-12 designed for teachers workshop. Kannappan, S. J. 2006. McDonald Observatory.

Long Ago and Far Away. Student activity for grades 9-12 designed for teachers workshop. Kannappan, S. J. and Hemenway, M. K. 2006. McDonald Observatory.

Build Your Own Galaxy. Introductory activity for family or classroom use; best enjoyed after reading about galaxies in the StarDate Beyond the Solar System guide. Activity designed by Armosky, B. & Kannappan, S. J. 2005. McDonald Observatory.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot: The Universe in X-rays. Hynes, R. I. and Kannappan, S. J. 2003. StarDate Magazine, September/October issue, 15.

Building a CCD Spectrograph for Educational or Amateur Astronomy. Kannappan, S. J., Fabricant, D. G., and Hughes, C. B. 2002. PASP, 114, 577.

Border Trading: The Amateur-Professional Partnership in Variable Star Astronomy. Kannappan, S. 2001. Masters Thesis for the History of Science Department, Harvard University.

Getting the Most from a CCD Spectrograph. Kannappan, S. J. and Fabricant, D. G. 2000. Sky & Telescope, July issue, 125-132. Even if you're not into equipment, check out page 3 for a fun introduction to the spectroscopic life story of a star!

A Survey of Amateur & Professional Participants in the Variable Star Observing Partnership. Kannappan, S. J. 2000. In ASP Conference Series 220: Amateur-Professional Partnerships in Astronomy, eds. J. R. Percy and J. B. Wilson, 29.


Resources for Students

Impostor Syndrome Workshop for undergraduate Visibility in Physics club. S. Kannappan. 2020. Slide presentation.

Applying to Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Programs (and other similar programs). S. Kannappan. 2019. Slide presentation; goes with "Writing the Personal Statement" handout below.

Applying to Graduate School and REU Programs. S. Kannappan. 2015. Older slide presentation; goes with personal statement handout below. Treats REUs very briefly; workshop above better for REUs.

Writing the Personal Statement for Graduate School and REU Program Applications. S. Kannappan. 2015. Handout to accompany above slide presentations.

Test-Taking Strategies for students at all levels, including a special section on the GRE. S. Kannappan. 2015. Handout.