Lee Anne Willson facts for kids
Lee Anne Willson (born in 1947) is an American astronomer. Astronomers are scientists who study space, stars, and planets.
Early Life and Learning
Lee Anne Willson was born on March 14, 1947, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She loved science from a young age. Her father was a scientist, and she spent her childhood reading science fiction books.
When she was in high school, she wanted to be an astronaut. But she soon realized this dream was difficult. She had poor eyesight and a crooked knee. Also, at that time, it was very hard for women to become astronauts.
Because she still wanted to learn about space, she decided to become an astronomer instead.
Willson went to Harvard University and earned a degree in physics in 1968. There, she learned that never giving up was very important. Once, a professor advised her not to take an advanced physics course because she was a woman. Her response was, "I'll see you in class on Monday."
From 1968 to 1969, she studied in Stockholm, Sweden. She was a Fulbright scholar and an American-Scandinavian Foundation scholar. These are special awards that help students study in other countries.
Willson then went to the University of Michigan for graduate school. She earned a master's degree in astronomy in 1970. She then received her PhD in astronomy in 1973. While studying, she researched Mira variables. These are special stars that change brightness over time. She continued to study them when she started working at Iowa State University.
Career and Discoveries
In 1973, Willson began working at Iowa State University. Some people in her department thought she was just working to keep busy. But she was determined to improve the astronomy program.
Willson worked with another scientist, Steven Hill. They developed a new idea about how Mira stars pulsate, or expand and shrink. Their idea was different from what other scientists believed. However, ten years later, their theory became widely accepted.
More recently, she has been studying if main-sequence stars lose mass when they pulsate. Main-sequence stars are like our Sun.
She has also worked at other universities and research centers. She was a visiting fellow in Canada in 1985. She was also a visiting astronomer at Cambridge University in 2007. She has been a visiting professor at Uppsala University in Sweden and the University of Minnesota. She also visited the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.
Willson has been very involved with the American Astronomical Society for almost 20 years. She was on their council and publication board. She also served as vice president. She was also a leader in the American Association of Variable Star Observers. This group studies stars that change in brightness. She was also on the board of directors for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.
She has received many awards for her work. These include the Annie Jump Cannon award in 1980. She also received the 40th Merit Award in 2008. Lee Anne Willson strongly supports women who want to work in science.
In 2020, she was named a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society. This is a special honor for astronomers.
Personal Life
On July 19, 1969, Lee Anne married Stephen J. Willson. He was a mathematics professor at Iowa State. They have two children, Kendra and Jeffrey.
Willson enjoys learning different languages. She also likes figure skating and art. She was the president of the Ames Figure Skating Club for about five years. Since 1995, she has been making "paper quilts" using origami. She is also interested in other types of modular origami, which uses many folded paper pieces to create a larger shape.
