Dr. Margaret J. Geller, Astrophysicist

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​Margaret J. Geller is a pioneer in mapping the nearby universe. Her maps provided a new view of the enormous patterns in the distribution of galaxies like the Milky Way, the largest patterns we know.

Dr. Geller's long-range scientific goals are to discover what the universe looks like and to understand how it came to have the rich patterns we observe today. To put the pieces of this grand puzzle together her research projects range from the structure of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, to mapping the distribution of the mysterious, ubiquitous dark matter in the universe.

 

Dr. Geller's current main research interests are:

• Mapping the distribution of the mysterious, ubiquitous dark matter in the universe. She leads a project called SHELS.

• Investigating the implications of the discovery of hypervelocity stars, stars ejected a high velocity from the Galactic center. These stars can travel across the Milky Way and may be an important tracer of the matter distribution in the Galaxy. Geller is a co-discoverer of this new class of objects.

• Mapping the middle-aged universe to understand how clusters and large-scale structure evolve. She leads a project called HectoMAP.

• Measuring and interpreting the signatures of star formation in the spectra of galaxies to understand the links between the star formation in galaxies and their environment.

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Education:

• B. A. Physics, University of California, Berkeley (1970)

• M. A. Physics, Princeton University (1972)

• Ph. D. Physics, Princeton University (1974)

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Honorary Societies:

• American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1990)

• National Academy of Sciences (1992)

 

Honors:

• Newcomb-Cleveland Prize (1989)

• MacArthur Fellowship (1990)

• Klopsteg Memorial Award (1996)

• Magellanic Premium (2008)

• James Craig Watson Medal (2010)

• Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (2010)

• Lilienfeld Prize (2013)

• Schwarzschild Medal (2014)

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