Ma Chung-pei facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ma Chung-Pei
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|---|---|
| 馬中珮 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, PhD) |
| Awards | Member of the National Academy of Sciences Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow of the American Physical Society Fellow of the American Astronomical Society Sloan Research Fellowship Simons Foundation fellow Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cosmology, astrophysics |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley |
Ma Chung-Pei (Chinese: 馬中珮; pinyin: Mǎ Zhōngpèi) is a brilliant scientist who studies space! She is an astrophysicist and a cosmologist. This means she learns about how the universe works and what it's made of. She is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2011 to 2016, she led teams that found some of the biggest black holes ever known!
Her Journey to the Stars
Ma Chung-Pei was born in Taiwan. Her parents were Huang Chao-heng and Ma Chi-shen. She started playing the violin when she was just four years old. When she was 16, she won the Taiwan National Violin Competition!
She went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. There, she earned her first degree in physics in 1987. Later, she got her Ph.D. (a very advanced degree) in physics from MIT in 1993. She studied how the universe began and what tiny particles are made of. Even while studying science, she kept taking violin classes!
After MIT, Ma worked at the California Institute of Technology from 1993 to 1996. Then, she became a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She was a great teacher there and even won an award for it! In 2001, she became a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley.
What She Studies
Professor Ma's main research is about the biggest things in the universe. She studies the large-scale structure of the universe, which is how galaxies and galaxy clusters are arranged. She also looks into dark matter, a mysterious substance that we can't see but know is there. Another area she studies is the cosmic microwave background, which is like an echo from the early universe.
One of her most exciting achievements was leading the team that found the largest known black holes in 2011. These are super massive objects in space that pull everything nearby into them!
She also helped edit The Astrophysical Journal, a very important science magazine for astronomers.
Awards and Cool Recognitions
Ma Chung-Pei has received many awards for her amazing work in science:
- 1987 – Phi Beta Kappa Society
- 1997 – Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy (from the American Astronomical Society)
- 1999 – Sloan Research Fellowship
- 2003 – Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award (from the American Physical Society)
- 2009 – Fellow of the American Physical Society
- 2012 – Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
- 2012 – Simons Foundation Fellow
- 2020 – Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 2022 – Fellow of the American Astronomical Society
- 2022 – Member of the National Academy of Sciences
- 2024 – Academician, Academia Sinica
See also
In Spanish: Ma Chung-pei para niños
