Dr. Ricker’s experimental research interests are focused on the development of new solid state photon detectors, based on silicon charged-coupled devices (CCDs) and intended primarily for space astronomy applications. He was also a pioneer in the development of small, inexpensive state-of-the-art satellites for astronomical missions. Ricker was the principal investigator for the international High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE-2) mission–a small satellite incorporating instruments from France, Japan and the United States–which was launched in October 2000, and was operated successfully in orbit for six years.