Anna Frebel (born 1980 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

) is a German

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and author working on discovering the oldest stars in the universe.

Career

Anna Frebel grew up in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, Germany. After finishing high school, she began studying physics in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

but did not finish the physics program and did not obtain a physics degree there. Instead she enrolled in an astronomy program in Australia, where she obtained a PhD in Astronomy from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Mount Stromlo Observatory Mount Stromlo Observatory located in the west of Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University (ANU). Australia's oldest telescope and several others at the observatory we ...

in Canberra. Shortly thereafter, a W. J. McDonald Postdoctoral Fellowship brought her to the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

in 2006, where she continued her studies. From 2009 to 2011, she was a Clay Postdoctoral

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

at the

Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics The Center for Astrophysics , Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), previously known as the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is an astrophysics research institute jointly operated by the Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophy ...

in Cambridge (MA). In 2012 she moved to

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, achieving promotion to full professor in 2022.Anna Frebel
at MIT Physics

Discoveries

In 2005, Frebel discovered the star HE 1327-2326, which is the most iron-deficient star, stemming from a time very shortly after the

Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...

. In 2007 she also discovered the red giant star HE 1523-0901, which is about 13.2 billion years old.

Awards and honors

* 2007: Charlene Heisler Prize for the best astronomy PhD in 2006 in Australia * 2009: Opening presentation XLAB Science Festival, Göttingen * 2009: Ludwig Biermann Award (Young Astronomer Award) of the

German Astronomical Society __NOTOC__ The ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' is an astronomical society established in 1863 in Heidelberg, the second oldest astronomical society after the Royal Astronomical Society. History In 1882, the ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' founded t ...

* 2010: Annie J. Cannon Award of the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

* 2010: Lise Meitner Lecturer, Göttingen and Innsbruck * 2011: Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow, National Academy of Sciences * 2022:

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of fellows of the ...

Publications (selection)

* * *

References

External links

Anna Frebel
at MIT Physics
Anna Frebel
Princeton University Press
Anna Frebel
fischerverlage.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Frebel, Anna 21st-century German astronomers German women astronomers Living people 1980 births Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy Ludwig Biermann Award winners Scientists from Göttingen 21st-century German women scientists Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society