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 is an American astrophysicist. An astrophysicist is a scientist who studies space, stars, and galaxies. Dr. Newberg is famous for her work on understanding the structure of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
Her team has made exciting discoveries. They found that the Milky Way is "eating" stars from smaller galaxies. They also learned that our galaxy is much larger and has more ripples than scientists thought before. Dr. Newberg helped start important projects like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). She also leads the MilkyWay@home project. This project uses computers from volunteers around the world to help study the Milky Way. She is a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York.
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Heidi Newberg's Education and Early Work
Heidi Newberg earned her first degree in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1987. She then went on to get her Ph.D. (a higher degree) in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992.
For her Ph.D. work, she studied exploding stars called supernovae. She helped measure how often these stars explode in distant galaxies. She also worked on a project that showed our universe is expanding faster and faster.
Awards and Recognitions
Dr. Newberg has received several important awards for her work. In 2007, she shared the Gruber Prize in Cosmology. This award was given to her and other members of the Supernova Cosmology Project. Their leader later won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011 for the same discovery.
In 2015, Dr. Newberg also shared the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. This was another award for her contributions to the Supernova Cosmology Project.
Career in Astronomy
After her Ph.D., Dr. Newberg worked at Fermilab, a famous science laboratory. There, she started working on 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 (SEGUE).
Dr. Newberg joined the faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1999. Since 2001, she has been the director of the Hirsch Observatory. From 2010 to 2021, she was the president of the board of trustees for the Dudley Observatory.
In 2012, she was chosen as a Fellow of the American Physical Society. This honor recognized her important discoveries about the Milky Way galaxy. It also recognized her work in creating tools to study large amounts of astronomy data.
Dr. Newberg has written many scientific papers. These papers cover different areas of astronomy. She has written about supernovae, how to measure galaxies, and the structure of our own galaxy.
Personal Life
Heidi 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
