Margaret Geller

Margaret J. Geller
Born	Margaret Joan Geller (1947-12-08)December 8, 1947[1] Ithaca, New York[1]
Nationality	American
Fields	Astrophysics: Galaxies and Cosmology
Institutions	Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Alma mater	UC Berkeley (1970) Princeton University (1975)
Doctoral advisor	P. J. E. Peebles
Notable awards	MacArthur Fellowship (1990) Magellanic Premium (2008) James Craig Watson Medal (2010) Russell Lectureship (2010) Lilienfeld Prize (2013)

Margaret J. Geller (born 1947) is an American astrophysicist at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her work has included pioneering maps of the nearby universe, studies of the relationship between galaxies and their environment, and the development and application of methods for measuring the distribution of matter in the universe.

Career

Geller received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics at the University of California, Berkeley (1970) and a Ph.D. in Physics from Princeton (1975). After research fellowships at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, England, she became an assistant professor of Astronomy at Harvard University (1980-1983). She then joined the permanent scientific staff of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, a partner in the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Geller is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. In 1990, she was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[2] Two years later, she was elected to the Physics section of the US National Academy of Sciences.^[3] From 2000 to 2003, she served on the Council of the National Academy of Sciences. She has received five honorary degrees (D. S. H. C.).

Research

Geller is known for observational and theoretical work in cosmology and extragalactic astronomy. In the 1980s, she made pioneering maps of the large-scale structure of the universe,^[4] which led to the discovery of the Great Wall.^[5] With the 6.5-m MMT, she is conducting a more distant survey of the universe called HectoMAP.^[6] Geller has developed innovative techniques for investigating the internal structure and total mass of clusters of galaxies and the relationship of clusters to the large-scale structure.

Geller is also a co-discoverer of hypervelocity stars.^[7]

Films and Public Lectures

Geller has made several films for public education. Her 8-minute video Where the Galaxies Are (1989) was the first graphic voyage through the observed universe and was awarded a CINE Gold Eagle. A later 40-minute film, So Many Galaxies...So Little Time, contains more sophisticated prize-winning (IEEE/Siggraph) graphics and was on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

Geller has lectured extensively to public audiences around the world. She has lectured twice in the main amphitheater at the Chautauqua Institution.^[8]

Awards and honors

• 1989 Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science along with John P. Huchra for "Mapping the Universe" ^[9]
• 1990 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship^[10]
• 1993 Helen Sawyer Hogg Lecture of the Canadian Astronomical Society ^[11]
• 1996 Klopsteg Memorial Award of the American Association of Physics Teachers ^[12]
• 1997 New York Public Library Library Lion ^[13]
• 2003 La Medaille de l'ADION of Nice Observatory ^[14]
• 2008 Magellanic Premium by the American Philosophical Society for her research into the groupings of galaxies.^[15]
• 2010 Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society ^[16]
• 2010 James Craig Watson Medal of the National Academy of Sciences^[17]
• 2013 Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society^[18]

References

External links

• Margaret Geller's homepage at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
• Interview with Margaret Geller at the 2013 meeting of the American Physical Society
• Margaret Geller's 2010 Lecture at Chautauqua