Kim Weaver

infobox person
name = Kim Weaver


birth_name = Kimberly Ann Weaver
birth_date = birth date|1964|04|19|mf=y
birth_place = Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.
residence = Silver Springs, Maryland
nationality = American
citizenship = United States
known_for = Research Science
occupation = Professor, Lecturer, Author

Dr. Kimberly A. Weaver is an award winning American astrophysics astronomer and professor. Weaver is also noted for her many discoveries and professional publications. She has worked with NASA on several research projects. She is often seen on many television programs about astronomy. She is regarded by many of her peers to be an expert in the area of x-ray astronomy. [http://www.universe.nasa.gov/staff/CVs/Kimberly.Weaver/ Dr. Kimberly Ann Weaver ] ]

Early life and education

Kim Weaver was born in Morgantown, West Virginia in April 1964. As a five year old girl she was impressed by pictures of planets and galaxies as well as the 300 foot antenna dish of the National Radio Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. She also credits the Apollo 11 lunar mission as the inspiration to become a career scientist at NASA. [http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/features/spitzerprofiles/weaver_kim.shtml Spitzer Profile: Kim Weaver ] ] She attended West Virginia University and completed a B.S.degree in physics in
1987. [http://alumni.wvu.edu./spotlight/view/kim_weaver/ WVU Alumni | Kim Weaver ] ] She then enrolled at the University of Maryland in 1988. It was there that she began as a student intern at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Kim graduated from the University of Maryland in 1990 with M.S. in Astronomy. She was accepted to the University of Maryland at College Park and graduated in 1993 with Ph.D. in astronomy. Her doctoral thesis was in complex broad-band x-ray spectra of Seyfert Galaxies.Weaver spent an additional two years as a postdoctoral research associate at Penn State and another two years as an associate research scientist at Johns Hopkins University. [http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2005-09/bios/weaver.shtml Bio: Dr. Kim Weaver ] ] In 1998, she returned to Goddard.

Career

At Goddard's Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Weaver was a civil servant scientist. There she concentrated in x-ray astronomy, particularly on the Constellation X satellite project, which is part of NASA's "Beyond Einstein" program, as the Deputy Project Scientist.During her tenure at Goddard, she also worked extensively with the Chandra X-ray Telescope where many important observations were made with respect to starburst galaxies, blackholes and other astronomical phenomena. [ [http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/story.html Top Story ] ] In addition to Chandra, Weaver has worked with other x-ray telescopes such as the XXM-Newton, RXTE, and the BeppoSAX, satellites. In 2005 she was on special assignment to the California Institute of Technology as the Spitzer Program Scientist for NASA. Dr. Weaver was part of the Spitzer Space Telescope team that discovered a massive asteroid belt around a mature, sunlike star named HD69830, which is 41 lightyears away. [ [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/04/0421_050421_spitzer.html Asteroid Belt Discovered Around Our Sun's "Twin" ] ] Currently Dr. Weaver, in addition to still working with NASA, and is also an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Research interests

Dr. Weaver has many research interests, some of which are:
* General X-Ray Astronomy
* Active Galactic Nuclei
* Starburst Galaxies
* Black Hole formation

Awards

Dr. Weaver has been the recipient of many awards, [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/space_news.html] including:
*2007, West Virginia University Alumni Recognition Award
*1996, Presidential Early Career Award, NASA
*1991-1993, NASA Graduate Student Researcher's Fellowship
*1992, NASA Peer Award

Publications

Dr. Weaver has been published in over 60 scientific journals, some of which are:

* "On the Evidence of Extreme Gravity Effects in MCG-6-30-15", Weaver,K.A., and Yaqoob, T. 1998, ApJ, 502, L139
* "An X-Ray Minisurvey of Nearby Edge-On Starburst Galaxies. II. The Question of Metal Abundance.", Weaver, K.A., Heckman, T.M., Dahlem, M. 2000 ApJ 534, 684

Kim is also the author of the book, "The Violent Universe: Joyrides Through the X-Ray Cosmos." Published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Professional society memberships

Dr. Weaver is involved with many professional groups and organizations, [http://gewa.gsfc.nasa.gov/documents/GEWA/annual_2004.pdf] such as:

*American Astronomical Society
**Executive Committee of the High Energy Astrophysics Division
**Committee for the Status of Women in Astronomy
*International Astronomical Union
*American Physical Society
*Goddard Employees Welfare Association

Quotes

"We already know that powerful quasars are very efficient at making light. Now we know that black holes in elliptical galaxies are efficient as well." [http://www3.thinkexist.com/quotes/kim_weaver/ Kim Weaver quotes ] ]

"In an environmental sense, the black holes are actually preventing galactic sprawl from taking over the neighborhood."

Personal

Dr. Weaver enjoys music, art, and singing. She also loves community theatre, where she participates in acting, directing and set design. She especially likes playing the part of Elvira in Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit. While in college Kim was part of the WVU marching band and in 1986 was elected Miss Mountaineer. Weaver has a particular interest involving children with astronomy. Kim is the daughter of Kenna and Patricia Weaver who still reside in Morgantown, WV. [ [http://www.nis.wvu.edu/2006/kim_weaver.htm News and Information Services - News Release ] ]

References

External links

*http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/people/bios/women/kweaver.html
*http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/bios/weaver_bio.html
*http://university.gsfc.nasa.gov/eyesonthesky/Abstracts/weaverbio.html
*http://www.kimweaver.com