Heather A. Knutson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Heather Knutson
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Knutson in 2018, photo from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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| Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University Harvard University |
| Awards | NSF GRFP Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics Exoplanets |
| Institutions | California Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | Portraits of distant worlds: Characterizing the atmospheres of extrasolar planets (2009) |
| Doctoral advisor | David Charbonneau |
Heather A. Knutson is a brilliant scientist who studies planets far beyond our solar system. She is an astrophysicist and a professor at the California Institute of Technology. Her main work involves studying exoplanets, which are planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. She learns about what these distant worlds are made of and how they formed.
In 2016, a popular science magazine called Popular Science described her as the "first exoplanet meteorologist." This means she figures out the temperature, weather, and even the air (atmosphere) on these faraway planets!
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Heather Knutson's Education Journey
Heather Knutson started her science journey at Johns Hopkins University. While studying physics there, she also worked as an intern at the Space Telescope Science Institute. This gave her early experience in real space research. In 2004, she earned her bachelor's degree in physics with high honors.
After her undergraduate studies, she went to Harvard University for her advanced degrees. She worked with her advisor, David Charbonneau, and earned her Ph.D. in astronomy in 2009. Her Ph.D. project was all about understanding the atmospheres of planets outside our solar system.
Exploring Distant Worlds: Her Career
After finishing her Ph.D., Dr. Knutson spent two years as a special research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. There, she focused on "hot Jupiters." These are giant gas planets, like Jupiter, but they orbit very close to their stars. She studied the light from these stars as the planets passed in front of them. This helped her learn about the planets' atmospheres.
Since 2011, Dr. Knutson has been a professor at the California Institute of Technology. Her amazing work on exoplanet atmospheres has earned her many awards. She received the American Astronomical Society's Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy in 2013. In 2015, she was given the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy.
The National Science Foundation also recognized her work. In 2016, she received a CAREER award to study smaller exoplanets. The next year, in 2017, she was honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. This is one of the highest awards given to young scientists in the United States.
Awards and Special Recognition
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, 2017
- National Science Foundation CAREER (Faculty Early Career Development) Award, 2016
- Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy, American Astronomical Society, 2015
- Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in Physics, 2015
- Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy, American Astronomical Society, 2013
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2004
See also
In Spanish: Heather A. Knutson para niños
