Judith Young | |
---|---|
Born | Judith Sharn Rubin September 15, 1952 |
Died | May 23, 2014 | (aged 61)
Alma mater | |
Spouse |
Michael Young (
m. 1975–1990) |
Children | 1 |
Parents |
|
Relatives | Karl Rubin (brother) |
Awards | Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy |
Institutions | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
Thesis | The Isotopic Composition of Cosmic Rays (1979) |
Doctoral advisor | Phyllis S. Freier |
Judith Sharn Young ( née Rubin; September 15, 1952 – May 23, 2014) [1] was an American physicist, astronomer, [2] and educator. The American Physical Society honored Young with the first Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award for being the best young physicist in the world in 1986. [3] [4] [5] Astronomer Nick Scoville of Caltech writes of her research: "Her pioneering galactic structure research included some of the earliest mapping of CO emission in galaxies followed by the most extensive surveys molecular gas and star formation in nearby galaxies." [6]
Young received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Astronomy from Harvard University and graduated with Honors. [5] [6] She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from the University of Minnesota. [6]
Young began a postdoctoral fellowship at UMass in 1979, collaborating with Nick Z. Scoville in a study which measured the cold gas and carbon monoxide content of galaxies. [5] The pair made the discovery that the distribution of light and gas is proportional in galaxies. [5] The American Astronomical Society awarded her the Annie J. Cannon Prize for this work in 1982. [3] [5]
Young became an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1985. [5] In 1989, Young was promoted to associate professor with tenure, and became a Full Professor in 1993. [5] She published more than 130 papers, mentored 5 Ph.D. candidates, and supervised 15 undergraduate research projects. [6]
Young is perhaps best known for her Sunwheel project. [7] Young's goal for this project was to bring astronomy down to earth and to an empty lot behind the football stadium at the UMass-Amherst campus. [6] [7] In addition to her academic work, Young volunteered on the UMass campus and in her local community. [5] [6]
Young was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of astronomer Vera Rubin and mathematical biophysicist Robert Joshua Rubin, and sister to mathematician Karl Rubin. [8] [9]
She was married to Michael Young from 1975 to 1990 [1] and had a daughter, Laura. [4]
Judith Young died from complications resulting from multiple myeloma, a disease she lived with for eight years. [4] [6]