Heidi Jo Newberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Heidi Jo Newberg
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Photograph by Kris Qua, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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| Born | |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D. 1992) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (B.Sc. 1987) |
| Known for | Structure of the Milky Way galaxy |
| Awards | Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2007, shared) Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2015, shared) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics |
| Institutions | Fermilab, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard A. Muller |
Heidi Jo Newberg (born Marvin) is an American astrophysicist. This means she is a scientist who studies space and everything in it, like stars, planets, and galaxies. Dr. Newberg is famous for her work on our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
Her team has made exciting discoveries about the Milky Way. For example, they found that our galaxy is "eating" stars from smaller galaxies. They also learned that the Milky Way is much bigger and has more wavy shapes (like ripples) than scientists thought before.
Dr. Newberg helped start important projects like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE). She also leads a project called MilkyWay@home. This project uses the power of many home computers to help study the Milky Way.
Today, she is a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. She is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
Heidi Newberg's Career and Discoveries
Heidi Jo Newberg studied Physics at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She earned her first degree in 1987. Later, she received her Ph.D. (a higher degree) in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992.
While at Berkeley, she worked on projects that studied supernovae. Supernovae are huge explosions that happen when a star dies. One project measured how often different types of supernovae occurred. Another project, called the Supernova Cosmology Project, used distant supernovae to study how the universe is expanding. This work showed strong evidence that our universe is expanding faster and faster.
In 2007, Dr. Newberg shared the Gruber Prize in Cosmology with other members of the Supernova Cosmology Project. In 2015, she also shared the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics with the same group.
Work at Fermilab and RPI
Starting in 1992, Dr. Newberg worked at Fermilab, a famous particle physics laboratory. There, she helped develop the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This project creates detailed maps of the universe. She also worked on the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration.
Since 1999, Dr. Newberg has been a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She has also been the director of the Hirsch Observatory since 2001. From 2010 to 2021, she was the president of the board of trustees for the Dudley Observatory.
In 2012, she was recognized as a Fellow of the American Physical Society. This honor was given for her important work in understanding the structure of the Milky Way and the universe. It also recognized her for creating software and tools to get useful information from large amounts of astronomy data.
Dr. Newberg has written many scientific papers. Her research covers different areas of astronomy. These include studying supernovae, measuring how the universe expands, and understanding the structure of our galaxy. She also studies how to measure the brightness of stars and galaxies, and how to identify special objects called quasars.
Personal Life
Heidi Jo Newberg was born in Washington, D.C.. She is married to Lee Newberg and they have four children.
See also
In Spanish: Heidi Jo Marvin para niños
