Amber Straughn

Last updated
Amber Nicole Straughn
Amber Straughn, NASA Astrophysicist.jpg
Born1979 (age 46–47)
Bee Branch, Arkansas, U.S.
Alma mater University of Arkansas (BS)
Arizona State University (MS, PhD)
Known for James Webb Space Telescope
Scientific career
Fields Astrophysics, galaxy evolution
Institutions NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Thesis Tracing galaxy assembly: A study of merging and emission-line galaxies  (2008)
Doctoral advisor Rogier Windhorst
Website www.amberstraughn.com

Amber Nicole Straughn (born 1979) is an American astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She serves as deputy project scientist for James Webb Space Telescope science communications and as associate director of the Astrophysics Science Division. [1] Her research focuses on galaxy formation and evolution, particularly star-forming and interacting galaxies. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Straughn grew up on a cattle and pig farm in Bee Branch, Arkansas. [3] [4] The dark rural skies sparked an early interest in astronomy. [5] She was inspired to pursue a career in space science after watching coverage of the Hubble Space Telescope launch in 1990. [5]

Regarding her educational background, Straughn graduated from South Side High School in 1998 and became the first person in her family to attend college. [6] She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the University of Arkansas in 2002 on a merit scholarship. [1] As an undergraduate, she participated in research aboard NASA's KC-135 reduced-gravity aircraft. [1]

Straughn pursued graduate studies at Arizona State University under Rogier Windhorst. She received a NASA Harriett Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship in 2005, a three-year award supporting underrepresented groups in STEM fields. [7] [8] After that, she earned her PhD in physics in 2008 with a dissertation on galaxy evolution using Hubble Space Telescope data. [9]

Career

Straughn joined NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as a postdoctoral researcher in 2008 and became deputy project scientist for JWST Science Communications in 2011. [2] In this role, she leads efforts to communicate the telescope's scientific discoveries to the public and media.

Her research has contributed to understanding distant galaxies in the early universe. As an early user of the Wide Field Camera 3 installed on Hubble in 2009, Straughn demonstrated its capability to measure distances and properties of faint galaxies. [10] She is a co-investigator on the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS), the largest galaxy survey conducted with Hubble. [1]

Science communication

Straughn is an active science communicator, speaking at schools, museums, astronomy clubs, and research institutions. [1] She has appeared on PBS's NOVA , [11] [12] Netflix, [13] National Geographic, Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Science Channel. [7] She also appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in the "Hubble Gotcha" segment. [14] Straughn has given a TEDx talk on the James Webb Space Telescope. [15]

Awards and honors

Personal life

Straughn became a licensed pilot in 2013 and flies a Cessna 182 Skylane. [19] She is also a certified yoga instructor. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Amber Straughn Biography". James Webb Space Telescope. NASA. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  2. 1 2 "Dr. Amber N. Straughn". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  3. ↑ "Amber Straughn – Star light, star bright". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. 2017-04-23.
  4. ↑ Storey, Michael (2015-04-21). "Nova show marks Hubble telescope anniversary". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
  5. 1 2 Straughn, Amber (2019-09-20). "A NASA Scientist Looks Back on Looking up". Arkansas Life. Archived from the original on 2020-06-20. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  6. ↑ Hardy, Benjamin (2016-10-21). "New frontiers in space: NASA scientist talks exoplanets, Hubble's successor and more". Arkansas Times.
  7. 1 2 "Dr. Amber Straughn, Astrophysicist". Discovery.
  8. 1 2 3 Hitt, David (2007-04-18). "Bringing Extragalactic Data Down to Earth". NASA. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  9. ↑ Straughn, Amber N. (December 2008). Tracing galaxy assembly: A study of merging and emission-line galaxies (PhD). Arizona State University. Bibcode:2008PhDT........12S.
  10. ↑ Straughn, Amber N.; et al. (2011). "Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 Early Release Science: Emission-line Galaxies from Infrared Grism Observations". The Astronomical Journal. 141 (1): 14. arXiv: 1005.3071 . Bibcode:2011AJ....141...14S. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/141/1/14. hdl: 1885/65533 .
  11. ↑ "Invisible Universe Revealed". PBS NOVA. 2015-04-22.
  12. ↑ "New Eye on the Universe". PBS NOVA. 2024-02-18.
  13. ↑ "Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine". Netflix. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  14. ↑ "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - JWST Gotchu". YouTube. 2010. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  15. ↑ "Infant Galaxies to Alien Atmospheres: NASA's Next Huge Telescope – Amber Straughn". YouTube. TEDxACU. 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  16. ↑ "Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Awards". American Astronomical Society. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  17. ↑ "2016 NASA Agency Honor Awards" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2020-06-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ↑ "NASA Astrophysicist Amber Straughn to Lecture on Search for Origins of Life". University of Arkansas. 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  19. ↑ "On the Move: Dr. Amber Straughn – Astrophysicist and Galactic Explorer". Ocean Blue World. 2019-09-27. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
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