Heidi Jo Newberg
Encyclopedia
Heidi Jo Newberg is an American
astrophysicist known for her work in understanding the structure of our Milky Way
galaxy. Among her team's findings is the first-ever evidence that the Milky Way is "cannibalizing" stars from smaller galaxies.
She is a founding participant in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
and the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE), and is a leader of the astrophysical MilkyWay@home
distributed computing
project team. She is currently a professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
in Troy, New York
, USA.
Newberg received her bachelor's degree
in Physics
from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
in 1987. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1992, working on the Berkeley Automated Supernova Search, which measured the supernova
rates as a function of supernova type in Virgo-distance galaxies; and the Supernova Cosmology Project
, which measured the cosmological parameters Omega and Lambda
using the light curves of distant supernovae, and provided strong evidence that the expansion of our universe is accelerating. In 2007, she shared the Gruber Prize in Cosmology
along with the other members of the Supernova Cosmology Project and in 2011 the group's lead won the Nobel Prize in Physics. At Fermilab
, she worked on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
starting in 1992. She joined the faculty of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1999.
She has published papers in diverse areas of galactic and extragalactic astronomy, including: supernova phenomenology, measuring cosmological parameters from supernovae, galaxy photometry
, color selection of QSO
s, properties of stars, and the structure of our galaxy.
She is married to Lee Newberg and has four children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
astrophysicist known for her work in understanding the structure of our Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
galaxy. Among her team's findings is the first-ever evidence that the Milky Way is "cannibalizing" stars from smaller galaxies.
She is a founding participant in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
Sloan Digital Sky Survey
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey or SDSS is a major multi-filter imaging and spectroscopic redshift survey using a dedicated 2.5-m wide-angle optical telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, United States. The project was named after the Alfred P...
and the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE), and is a leader of the astrophysical MilkyWay@home
MilkyWay@Home
MilkyWay@home is a volunteer distributed computing project in astrophysics running on the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing platform...
distributed computing
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
project team. She is currently a professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
in Troy, New York
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, USA.
Newberg received her bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
in 1987. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1992, working on the Berkeley Automated Supernova Search, which measured the supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
rates as a function of supernova type in Virgo-distance galaxies; and the Supernova Cosmology Project
Supernova Cosmology Project
The Supernova Cosmology Project is one of two research teams that determined the likelihood of an accelerating universe and therefore a positive Cosmological constant, using data from the redshift of Type Ia supernovae...
, which measured the cosmological parameters Omega and Lambda
Cosmological constant
In physical cosmology, the cosmological constant was proposed by Albert Einstein as a modification of his original theory of general relativity to achieve a stationary universe...
using the light curves of distant supernovae, and provided strong evidence that the expansion of our universe is accelerating. In 2007, she shared the Gruber Prize in Cosmology
Gruber Prize in Cosmology
The Gruber Prize in Cosmology is one of five international awards made by The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, an American non-profit organization based in the U.S. Virgin Islands with offices in New York City...
along with the other members of the Supernova Cosmology Project and in 2011 the group's lead won the Nobel Prize in Physics. At Fermilab
Fermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
, she worked on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Sloan Digital Sky Survey
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey or SDSS is a major multi-filter imaging and spectroscopic redshift survey using a dedicated 2.5-m wide-angle optical telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, United States. The project was named after the Alfred P...
starting in 1992. She joined the faculty of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1999.
She has published papers in diverse areas of galactic and extragalactic astronomy, including: supernova phenomenology, measuring cosmological parameters from supernovae, galaxy photometry
Photometry (astronomy)
Photometry is a technique of astronomy concerned with measuring the flux, or intensity of an astronomical object's electromagnetic radiation...
, color selection of QSO
Quasar
A quasi-stellar radio source is a very energetic and distant active galactic nucleus. Quasars are extremely luminous and were first identified as being high redshift sources of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves and visible light, that were point-like, similar to stars, rather than...
s, properties of stars, and the structure of our galaxy.
Personal life
Newberg was born in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
She is married to Lee Newberg and has four children.
External links
- Heidi Jo Newberg's webpage at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?db_key=AST&db_key=PRE&qform=AST&arxiv_sel=astro-ph&arxiv_sel=cond-mat&arxiv_sel=cs&arxiv_sel=gr-qc&arxiv_sel=hep-ex&arxiv_sel=hep-lat&arxiv_sel=hep-ph&arxiv_sel=hep-th&arxiv_sel=math&arxiv_sel=math-ph&arxiv_sel=nlin&arxiv_sel=nucl-ex&arxiv_sel=nucl-th&arxiv_sel=physics&arxiv_sel=quant-ph&arxiv_sel=q-bio&sim_query=YES&ned_query=YES&aut_logic=OR&obj_logic=OR&author=Newberg%2C+Heidi+J+M%0D%0ANewberg%2C+Heidi+J%0D%0ANewberg%2C+Heidi%0D%0AMarvin%2C+Heidi+J%0D%0AMarvin%2C+Heidi%0D%0A&object=&start_mon=&start_year=&end_mon=&end_year=&ttl_logic=OR&title=&txt_logic=OR&text=&nr_to_return=200&start_nr=1&jou_pick=ALL&ref_stems=&data_and=ALL&group_and=ALL&start_entry_day=&start_entry_mon=&start_entry_year=&end_entry_day=&end_entry_mon=&end_entry_year=&min_score=&sort=SCORE&data_type=SHORT&aut_syn=YES&ttl_syn=YES&txt_syn=YES&aut_wt=1.0&obj_wt=1.0&ttl_wt=0.3&txt_wt=3.0&aut_wgt=YES&obj_wgt=YES&ttl_wgt=YES&txt_wgt=YES&ttl_sco=YES&txt_sco=YES&version=1List of scholarly publications] as provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) abstract server.
- Chapter contributor to Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory: Women Scientists Speak Out by Emily Monosson (ISBN 978-0801446641)