Andrea Ghez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Andrea Ghez | |
 |
|
| Fields | Astronomy |
|---|---|
| Institutions | UCLA |
| Alma mater | MIT & Caltech |
| Known for | The use of adaptive optics in studies of the galactic center.[1] |
Andrea Mia Ghez (born 1965) is an astronomer and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA.[2] She received a BS in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987 and her Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology in 1991.[3] In 2004, Discover magazine listed Andrea as one of the top 20 scientists in the United States who have shown a high degree of understanding in their respective fields.[2]
Her current research involves using high spatial resolution imaging techniques, such as the adaptive optics system at the Keck telescopes,[4] to study star-forming regions and the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy known as Sagittarius A.[5] She uses the kinematics of stars near the center of the galaxy as a probe to investigate this region.[6] The high resolution of the Keck telescopes gave a significant improvement over the first major study of galactic center kinematics by Reinhard Genzel's group.[7]
In 2004, Andrea was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.[8] She's appeared in a long list of notable media presentations. The documentaries have been produced by organizations such as The Learning Channel, BBC, and The History Channel; in 2006 there was a presentation on Nova.[9]
Contents |
[edit] Awards
- Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy (1994) [10]
- Packard Fellowship award (1996) [11]
- Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society (1998) [10]
- Sackler Prize (2004) [12]
- Gold Shield Faculty Prize for Academic Excellence (2004) [13]
[edit] Selected publications
- The Multiplicity of T Tauri Stars in the Taurus-Auriga & Ophiuchus-Scorpius Star Forming Regions: A 2.2 micron Imaging Survey, 1993, AJ, 106, 2005
- High Spatial Resolution Imaging of Pre-Main Sequence Binary Stars: Resolving the Relationship Between Disks and Close Companions, 1997, ApJ, 490, 353
- High Proper Motions in the Vicinity of Sgr A*: Unambiguous Evidence for a Massive Central Black Hole, 1998, ApJ, 509 678
- The Accelerations of Stars Orbiting the Milky Way's Central Black Hole, 2000, Nature, 407, 349
- The First Measurement of Spectral Lines in a Short-Period Star Bound to the Galaxy's Central Black Hole: A Paradox of Youth, 2003, ApJLetters, 586, 126
[edit] References
- ^ High-res images of galacic center. keckobservatory.org. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b 20 Young Scientists to Watch. discovermagazine.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ Changing Faces of Astronomy. sciencemag.org. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Supermassive Black Holes. BBC. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Milky Way Monster Stars in Cosmic Reality Show. chandra.harvard.edu. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ CELT Science Working Group Meeting. ucolick.org. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Observations of stellar proper motions near the Galactic Centre. adsabs.harvard.edu. DOI:10.1038/383415a0.
- ^ Andrea Ghez Elected to National Academy of Sciences. NASA. Retrieved on 2004-03-20.
- ^ Andrea M. Ghez. UCLA. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy. aas.org. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Packard Fellows - Sorted by Award Year: 1996. cs.virginia.edu. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Honors and Awards received by IGPP/UCLA Faculty and Research Staff. UCLA. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ Astronomer Andrea Ghez awarded Gold Shield prize. UCSC. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
