Judith Young (astronomer)

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Judith Young
Born
Judith Sharn Rubin

(1952-09-15)September 15, 1952
DiedMay 23, 2014(2014-05-23) (aged 61)
Alma mater
Spouse
Michael Young
​
(m. 1975⁠–⁠1990)​
Children1
Parents
RelativesKarl Rubin (brother)
AwardsMaria Goeppert-Mayer Award
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
Thesis The Isotopic Composition of Cosmic Rays  (1979)
Doctoral advisorPhyllis 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]

Career[edit]

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]

Personal life[edit]

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]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Gardner, Sue Ann (1997). "Judith Sharn Young". In Shearer, Benjamin F.; Shearer, Barbara S. (eds.). Notable Women in the Physical Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 438–443. ISBN 978-0-31-329303-0.
  2. ^ Larsen, Kristine (December 31, 1999). "Vera Cooper Rubin". Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. Jewish Women's Archive. Archived from the original on July 24, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Oakes, E.H. (2007). "Young, Judith Sharn". Encyclopedia of World Scientists. Facts on File Science Library. Facts On File. p. 792. ISBN 978-1-4381-1882-6. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Maria Goeppert Mayer Award". American Physical Society. July 1, 2016. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituary: Judy Young, Astronomer Who Built Campus Sunwheel". University of Massachusetts Amherst. May 28, 2014. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Scoville, Nick; Schneider, Steve (January 31, 2014). "Judith S. Young (1952–2014)". Bulletin of the AAS. 46 (1). American Astronomical Society: 007. Bibcode:2014BAAS...46..007S. Archived from the original on September 7, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Mackenzie, Dana (January–February 2000). "A Megalith for the Millennium". American Scientist. Vol. 88, no. 1. pp. 23–24. ISSN 0003-0996. JSTOR 27857959. Retrieved September 17, 2023.[dead link]
  8. ^ "Vera Rubin". The Gruber Foundation. Yale University. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Patricia (February 5, 2008). "Robert J. Rubin, 81; Scientist Whose Work Combined Disciplines". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
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