Andrea Ghez

Infobox Scientist


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name = Andrea Ghez
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field = Astronomy
work_institutions = UCLA
alma_mater = MIT & Caltech
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known_for = The use of adaptive optics in studies of the galactic center. [citeweb|title=High-res images of galactic center|url=http://www.keckobservatory.org/article.php?id=38|publisher=keckobservatory.org|accessdate=2008-03-20]
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Andrea Mia Ghez (born 1965) is an astronomer and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA.citeweb|title=20 Young Scientists to Watch|url=http://discovermagazine.com/2000/oct/featwatch|publisher=discovermagazine.com|accessdate=2008-03-06] She received a BS in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987 and her Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology in 1991. [citeweb|title=Changing Faces of Astronomy|url=http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2006_01_20/changing_faces_of_astronomy|publisher=sciencemag.org|accessdate=2008-03-20] In 2004, Discover magazine listed Andrea as one of the top 20 scientists in the United States who have shown a high degree of understanding in their respective fields.

Her current research involves using high spatial resolution imaging techniques, such as the adaptive optics system at the Keck telescopes, [citeweb|title=Supermassive Black Holes|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/massivebholes_transcript.shtml|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2008-03-20] to study star-forming regions and the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy known as Sagittarius A. [citeweb|title=Milky Way Monster Stars in Cosmic Reality Show
url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/0203long/|publisher=chandra.harvard.edu|accessdate=2008-03-20] She uses the kinematics of stars near the center of the galaxy as a probe to investigate this region. [citeweb|title=CELT Science Working Group Meeting|url=http://celt.ucolick.org/minutes/SWG_27mar00_minutes.doc|publisher=ucolick.org|accessdate=2008-03-20] The high resolution of the Keck telescopes gave a significant improvement over the first major study of galactic center kinematics by Reinhard Genzel's group. [citeweb|title=Observations of stellar proper motions near the Galactic Centre|publisher=adsabs.harvard.edu|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?1996Natur.383..415E|doi=10.1038/383415a0]

In 2004, Andrea was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. [citeweb|title=Andrea Ghez Elected to National Academy of Sciences|url=http://nai.nasa.gov/newsletter/04302004/index.html#6|publisher=NASA|accessdate=2004-03-20] She's appeared in a long list of notable media presentations. The documentaries have been produced by organizations such as The Learning Channel, BBC, and The History Channel; in 2006 there was a presentation on Nova. [citeweb|title=Andrea M. Ghez|url=http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~ghez/Ghez_cv_long.07aug.pdf|publisher=UCLA|accessdate=2008-03-20]

Awards

*Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy (1994) citeweb|title=Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy|url=http://www.aas.org/grants/awards.php|publisher=aas.org|accessdate=2008-03-20]
*Packard Fellowship award (1996) [citeweb|title=Packard Fellows - Sorted by Award Year: 1996|url=http://www.cs.virginia.edu/packard/directory/1996.html|publisher=cs.virginia.edu|accessdate=2008-03-20]
*Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society (1998)
*Sackler Prize (2004) [citeweb|title=Honors and Awards received by IGPP/UCLA Faculty and Research Staff|url=http://www.igpp.ucla.edu/awards.php|publisher=UCLA|accessdate=2008-03-20]
*Gold Shield Faculty Prize for Academic Excellence (2004) [citeweb|title=Astronomer Andrea Ghez awarded Gold Shield prize|url=http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/6442|publisher=UCSC|accessdate=2008-03-20]
*MacArthur Fellowship (2008) [citeweb|title=UCLA astronomer Andrea Ghez named a 2008 MacArthur Fellow|url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ghez-64006.aspx|publisher=UCLA|accessdate=2008-09-23]

elected publications

*"The Multiplicity of T Tauri Stars in the Taurus-Auriga & Ophiuchus-Scorpius Star Forming Regions: A 2.2 micron Imaging Survey", 1993, AJ, 106, 2005
*"High Spatial Resolution Imaging of Pre-Main Sequence Binary Stars: Resolving the Relationship Between Disks and Close Companions", 1997, ApJ, 490, 353
*"High Proper Motions in the Vicinity of Sgr A*: Unambiguous Evidence for a Massive Central Black Hole", 1998, ApJ, 509 678
*"The Accelerations of Stars Orbiting the Milky Way's Central Black Hole", 2000, Nature, 407, 349
*"The First Measurement of Spectral Lines in a Short-Period Star Bound to the Galaxy's Central Black Hole: A Paradox of Youth", 2003, ApJLetters, 586, 126

References

External links

* [http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~ghez/ Ghez UCLA home page]
* [http://spotlight.ucla.edu/faculty/andrea-ghez_astro/ Andrea Ghez, Astronomy / UCLA Spotlight]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6199067060728714818&q=uctv&total=28&start=20&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3 UCLA Faculty Research Lecture: Unveiling a Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way]