Wendy Freedman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wendy Freedman
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Freedman in 2010
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| Born | July 17, 1957 Toronto, Canada
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| Alma mater | University of Toronto (B.Sc. & Ph.D.) |
| Awards | Magellanic Premium (2002) Gruber Cosmology Prize (2009) Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics (2016) Nature's 10 (2024) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Carnegie Observatories University of Chicago |
| Thesis | The Young Stellar Content of Nearby Resolved Galaxies (1984) |
Wendy Laurel Freedman (born July 17, 1957) is a Canadian-American astronomer. She is famous for measuring the Hubble constant. This constant helps us understand how fast the universe is growing. She also directed the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California, and Las Campanas, Chile. Today, she is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago. Her main work involves studying how the universe has expanded over time. She also looks for new physics that might be missing from our current understanding of the universe.
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Early Life and Education
Wendy Freedman grew up in Toronto, Canada. Her father was a doctor, and her mother was a concert pianist. A high school physics class sparked her early interest in science. This led her to the University of Toronto. She first studied biophysics, then changed to astronomy. She earned her bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) in 1979.
She continued her studies at the University of Toronto. In 1984, she received her Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics. That same year, she joined the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California. She started as a post-doctoral fellow. Three years later, she became a permanent staff member. She was the first woman to join Carnegie's permanent scientific team. In 2003, she became the Director of Carnegie Observatories. Early in her career, Freedman focused on measuring distances to stars called Cepheid variables. She also studied groups of stars in nearby galaxies.
Measuring the Universe's Expansion
Freedman was a co-leader of a big international team. This team had 30 astronomers. They worked on the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project. Their goal was to figure out the distance scale of the universe. They also wanted to measure how fast the universe is expanding right now. This speed is called the Hubble constant. Knowing this constant helps us find the size and age of the visible universe.
During the project, the team measured distances to 24 galaxies. They used Cepheid variable stars to do this. They also measured the Hubble constant using five different methods. Freedman's team published their final result in 2001. Their work provided a value for the Hubble constant that was very accurate. It helped solve a long-standing debate about its exact value.
She continues to improve her measurements of the Hubble constant. She uses Cepheid variables and another method called the tip of the red-giant branch.
Building the Giant Magellan Telescope
Freedman started the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) Project. She was the chair of its board of directors from 2003 to 2015. The GMT is a project involving many top universities and science groups. They are building a huge 25-meter optical telescope. It is located at the Carnegie Institution for Science's Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.
The GMT will have a main mirror that is 80 feet (24 meters) wide. When it is finished, it will be the largest ground-based telescope in the world. The telescope is currently being built. It is expected to be fully working by 2034. It will be able to take pictures that are 10 times clearer than those from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Awards and Recognition
Wendy Freedman has received many honors for her work. She is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences. She is also a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Astronomical Society. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
She has won several awards for her contributions to understanding the universe. These include:
- The Magellanic Premium Award in 2002.
- The Marc Aaronson Lectureship and prize in 1994. This was for her work on measuring distances in space.
- The Gruber Cosmology Prize in 2009 (shared with two others).
- The 2016 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics. This award recognized her leadership in using telescope observations to improve the accuracy of cosmic distances.
In 2024, she was named one of Nature's 10. In 2025, Freedman received the National Medal of Science. An asteroid, 107638 Wendyfreedman, was named after her in 2007.
Personal Life
Wendy Freedman is married to Barry F. Madore. He is also a scientist and a longtime collaborator. They have two children.
See also
- List of women in leadership positions on astronomical instrumentation projects
