Jedidah Isler facts for kids

Jedidah C. Isler is an American astrophysicist and educator. She is also a strong supporter of making STEM fields more welcoming to everyone. In 2014, she made history as the first African-American woman to earn her PhD in astrophysics from Yale University.

Currently, Dr. Isler is a professor of astrophysics at Dartmouth College. Her work focuses on blazars, which are super-active black holes. She studies the powerful streams of energy, called jets, that shoot out from them. In 2020, she joined Joe Biden's presidential transition team. She helped with efforts related to NASA.

Jedidah Isler's Early Life and Education

Jedidah Isler grew up in Niagara Falls, New York, and later in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Her love for astronomy started when she was about 11 or 12 years old. Her sister gave her a telescope for her birthday. With it, she began looking at the stars and dreamed of a career in science. Before college, her family faced some money problems. This made it seem like she might have to stop her studies.

Since her college did not offer an astronomy degree, Isler chose to study physics. During her time there, she did many internships and summer research projects in astronomy. She graduated with high honors from Norfolk State University. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree. She was part of a special program for minority scientists. This program helps students prepare for graduate school.

After her bachelor's degree, Isler earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in physics from Fisk University. Later, she received a Master of Science (M.S.) in physics from Yale University. She was one of the first students in a program that helps more women and minorities get advanced STEM degrees. This program usually involves a master's from Fisk and a PhD from Vanderbilt. However, Isler chose to go to Yale for her PhD.

In 2014, she earned her PhD in Astronomy from Yale University. She focused on astrophysics, especially studying blazars. She became the first African-American woman to get a PhD in astrophysics from Yale. Her doctoral paper, In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion: Probing the Disk-Jet Connection in Fermi Gamma-Ray Bright Blazars, won an award.

Isler has shared that her role models include Mae Jemison, Beth A. Brown, and her mother.

Jedidah Isler's Academic Career

Jedidah Isler at the second White House Astronomy night with Mythbusters hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Monday, Oct. 19, 2015.

After earning her PhD, Dr. Isler continued her research. She held several postdoctoral research positions. From 2013 to 2015, she was a Chancellor's Faculty Fellow at Syracuse University. In 2014, she received a fellowship at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

Later, she won a 2015 National Science Foundation fellowship. This supported her research at Vanderbilt University. In 2015, Isler was honored with a TED Fellowship. She became a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2016. In 2017, she became a TED Senior Fellow.

Dr. Isler explains her research this way:

"My research focuses on understanding how Nature does particle acceleration. I use blazars –supermassive black holes at the centers of massive galaxies that "spin up" jets of particles moving at nearly the speed of light – as my laboratory. By obtaining observations across the electromagnetic spectrum: from radio, optical and all the way through to gamma-rays, I piece together how and why these black holes are able to create such efficient particle accelerators and, by extension, understand the Universe a tiny bit better. I'm also very interested in and active about creating more equitable STEM spaces for scholars of color broadly, and particularly, for women of color".

In 2019, she was chosen to be on a special panel. This panel helps decide the future of astronomy and astrophysics.

STEM Advocacy and Communication

In 2015, Dr. Isler started Vanguard: Conversations with Women of Color in STEM (VanguardSTEM). This is a web series where Isler interviews women of color in STEM fields. They talk about their work, their experiences, and current events. The goal is to create a safe space for women of color in STEM. They can celebrate their identities and interests.

Isler has given two popular TED Talks. Each talk has been viewed over 1.5 million times. Her second talk discusses the challenges faced by Black women in STEM. She pointed out that very few Black women have earned PhDs in physics-related fields.

In 2015, Isler wrote an article for The New York Times. It was titled "The 'Benefits' of Black Physics Students." This was in response to a question about the unique perspectives minority students bring to science classes.

In 2016, Vanity Fair magazine featured Isler. They highlighted her as one of the "New Guard of S.T.E.M Stars."

Isler has also appeared on TV shows. She was in two episodes of How the Universe Works. She explained astronomical events and theories. She also appeared in Genius by Stephen Hawking and National Geographic's series Mars.

In 2020, Isler helped organize the #ShutDownSTEM Day. This movement encouraged scientists to take a day off from work. Instead, they learned about anti-racism and planned ways to fight racism. They also supported their Black colleagues.

Honors and Awards

• Senior TED Fellow, 2017
• The Root 100 Most Influential African Americans, 2016
• National Geographic Emerging Explorer, 2016
• Kavli Fellow Frontiers of Science Symposium, November 2015
• Curator & Host TED Conference, February 2016
• Host TED@IBM, October 2015
• TED Fellow, 2015
• American Astronomical Society Roger Doxsey Dissertation Prize, January 2014
• Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, August 2012
• Edward Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, March 2012
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, June 2007
• NASA-Harriett G. Jenkins Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, June 2007