Amy Mainzer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amy Mainzer
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| Born | January 2, 1974 Mansfield, Ohio
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Stanford University California Institute of Technology University of California, Los Angeles |
| Known for | Astrophysical instrumentation and infrared astronomy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics |
| Institutions | University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory |
Amy Mainzer (born January 2, 1974) is an American astronomer. She is an expert in building special tools for space. She also studies the universe using infrared astronomy. This means she looks at heat radiation that we can't see with our eyes.
Dr. Mainzer was a lead scientist for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. She is now in charge of its follow-up mission, NEOWISE. This mission helps us find and study minor planets, like asteroids. She also leads the future Near Earth Object Surveyor space telescope mission. This telescope will help us find asteroids that might come close to Earth.
She has also worked on the PBS Kids TV show Ready Jet Go!. She helped make sure the science was correct. She also appeared in parts of the show.
About Amy Mainzer
Amy Mainzer studied physics at Stanford University. She then earned her master's degree in astronomy from the California Institute of Technology. Later, she received her Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Her research helps us understand many things in space. She studies asteroids, which are small rocky objects. She also looks at brown dwarfs, which are objects bigger than planets but smaller than stars. Dr. Mainzer also researches the air around planets, called planetary atmospheres. She studies debris disks, which are rings of dust and rock around young stars. She also learns about how stars are born, a process called star formation. A big part of her work is designing and building new tools for telescopes on Earth and in space.
You might have seen Dr. Mainzer on TV. She has appeared in several episodes of the History Channel series The Universe. She also helped with a documentary about the movie Star Trek Generations. In 2016, she was in a documentary called "For the Love of Spock". This film was about actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in Star Trek. As mentioned, she was a science consultant and host for the Ready Jet Go! series on PBS Kids. She was also a science advisor for the 2021 Netflix movie Don't Look Up.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Mainzer has received several important awards for her work:
- NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (2012)
- NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal (2011)
- Many group awards for her work on the Spitzer, WISE, and NEOWISE missions.
- Lew Allen Award for Excellence (2010)
- NASA Graduate Student Research Program Fellowship (2001–2003)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (1996–1999)
- She became a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2025.
Asteroid Named After Her
An asteroid was named after Amy Mainzer! It is called 234750 Amymainzer. Astronomers found this asteroid in 2002. It was discovered by the NEAT program. This program uses telescopes at Palomar Observatory. The official name was announced in 2010.
Another asteroid, 251627 Joyceearl, was named after her grandparents.
See Also
In Spanish: Amy Mainzer para niños
- List of women in leadership positions on astronomical instrumentation projects
Images for kids
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Amy Mainzer
