Kristen Sellgren

Last updated

Kristen Sellgren
Born (1955-11-14) November 14, 1955 (age 68)
Alma mater
Awards Newton Lacy Pierce Prize (1990)
Scientific career
Fields Astronomy
Institutions
Thesis Near Infrared Studies of Reflection Nebulae  (1983)
Doctoral advisor
Website www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/sellgren.1/

Kristen Sellgren (born November 14, 1955) [1] is an American retired astronomer and Professor Emerita at the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Ohio State University. She won the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy in 1990. [2] She is the founder of American Astronomical Society's Committee for Sexual-Orientation & Gender Minorities in Astronomy (SGMA). [3]

Contents

Education and career

Sellgren graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 1976 with a BA in physics. She obtained a PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1983 under the advisement of B.T. Soifer and Gerry Neugebauer. Her graduate thesis was entitled Near Infrared Studies of Reflection Nebulae. [4] Her areas of expertise include the galactic center of the Milky Way, interstellar dust, and infrared astronomy generally. [5]

After graduating with her bachelor's degree, Sellgren completed a summer research fellowship at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. After receiving her doctorate, she took a postdoctoral research position at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1984, Sellgren joined the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaiʻi first as assistant astronomer, and then in 1989, as associate astronomer.

Since 1990, Sellgren has held several appointments at Ohio State University beginning with assistant professor. She was later named associate professor in 1994, and then reached full professorship in 2000 before entering into emerita status in 2011. Also in the year 2000, Sellgren served briefly as visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Honors and recognition

In 1973, Sellgren won recognition as a National Merit Scholar. In the same year, she was bestowed the UC Regents Fellowship at the University of California, San Diego. She was awarded the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in 1990 and later served as Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow from 1991 to 1993. She was also an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow in 2011. Sellgren is a current member of the American Astronomical Society as well as the International Astronomical Union.

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References

  1. Nemeh, Katherine H., ed. (2020). "Sellgren, Kristen". American Men & Women of Science: A Biographical Directory of Today's Leaders in Physical, Biological, and Related Sciences. Vol. 18. Katherine H. Nemeh (38th ed.). Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale. p. 10028. ISBN   978-0-02-866695-2. ISSN   0000-1287. OCLC   1152235791.
  2. "Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy | American Astronomical Society". aas.org. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  3. "Committee for Sexual-Orientation and Gender Minorities in Astronomy (SGMA) | SGMA". sgma.aas.org. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  4. "Kris Sellgren's CV". www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  5. "Kristen Sellgren | Department of Astronomy". astronomy.osu.edu. Retrieved June 15, 2016.