Constance M. Rockosi facts for kids

Constance "Connie" Mary Rockosi was born around 1972. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She also used to be the head of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department there.

Connie earned her PhD in 2001. She helped create the camera for a special telescope. This telescope was used for the first Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). She also led a big project called SEGUE, which explored our galaxy. Her main work is studying the Milky Way galaxy. She wants to understand how it grew and changed over time.

Early Life and Learning

Connie Rockosi went to Princeton University for her first degree. She studied electrical engineering there. While at Princeton, she worked with James Gunn. They worked together on the camera for the SDSS project.

She then went to the University of Chicago. In 2001, she earned her PhD in astronomy and astrophysics. A big part of her research was developing the camera for the SDSS. She still helps to keep this camera working today.

Career and Discoveries

After finishing her studies, Connie worked at the University of Washington. In 2004, she became a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).

Today, Professor Rockosi teaches astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC. She is also an astronomer at the University of California Observatories (UCO)/Lick Observatory. She became a full professor in 2012. She helps manage the technical labs at UCSC. She also used to be the head of the astronomy department.

She is a key scientist for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). This instrument helps study dark energy in the universe.

Mapping the Milky Way

Connie Rockosi was a leader for the SDSS-III project. This project was part of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE). SEGUE used light from over 200,000 stars. This helped scientists create a map of the Milky Way galaxy. She also led the SEGUE-2 project.

Designing Special Cameras

Professor Rockosi is very involved in making and testing special cameras. These cameras are used in telescopes. She has worked on cameras for many projects. These include the SDSS, the DESI, and the Keck Planet Finder.

Understanding Galaxies

Connie believes that by studying our own galaxy, the Milky Way, we can learn about others. This is sometimes called "galactic archeology." It helps us understand how other galaxies formed. She uses information about old stars. This includes their location, movement, and what they are made of. This helps us learn about the Milky Way's history.

Her research also helps explain why spiral galaxies look the way they do. She studies how big events, like galaxies crashing together, affected the Milky Way. She is especially interested in the metals found in stars. She studies how these metals are spread throughout our galaxy.

In 2010, Connie Rockosi was featured in a movie. It was a documentary called "The Joy of Stats."

See also

• In Spanish: Constance M. Rockosi para niños