Carrie Nugent (born 1984) is an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

of computational physics and planetary science at

Olin College Olin College of Engineering, officially Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, is a private college focused on engineering and located in Needham, Massachusetts. Its endowment had been funded primarily by the defunct F. W. Olin Foundation. T ...

. She studies

near-Earth object A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun ( perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orbit a ...

s. She is also a popular science communicator, and is a Senior

TED Fellow TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

. The

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

8801 Nugent was named after her.

Early life and education

Nugent studied at

Mira Costa High School Mira Costa High School (MCHS, "Costa") is a four-year public high school located in Manhattan Beach, California that first opened 1950. It is the only high school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. The school's athletic teams are k ...

, graduating in the class of 2002. She earned an undergraduate degree in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. She studied geophysics at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, and earned her PhD in 2013. She was supervised by

Jean-Luc Margot Jean-Luc Margot (born 1969) is a Belgian-born astronomer and a UCLA professor with expertise in planetary sciences and SETI. Career Margot has discovered and studied several binary asteroids with radar and optical telescopes. His discoveries ...

and investigated the

Yarkovsky effect The Yarkovsky effect is a force acting on a rotating body in space caused by the anisotropic emission of thermal photons, which carry momentum. It is usually considered in relation to meteoroids or small asteroids (about 10 cm to 10 km ...

. She served as an

Infrared Processing and Analysis Center The Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) provides science operations, data management, data archives and community support for astronomy and planetary science missions. IPAC has a historical emphasis on infrared-submillimeter astronomy a ...

(IPAC) Fellow from 2015. She worked at the Summer App Space, a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

based apprenticeship for people to learn programming whilst working on space projects.

Research and career

Nugent worked with the Near-Earth Object part of the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE, List of observatory codes, observatory code C51, Explorer 92 and MIDEX-6) was a NASA infrared astronomy Space observatory, space telescope in the Explorers Program launched in December 2009.. . WISE L ...

, known as

NEOWISE Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE, observatory code C51, Explorer 92 and MIDEX-6) was a NASA infrared astronomy space telescope in the Explorers Program launched in December 2009.. . WISE discovered thousands of minor planets and nu ...

. She was part of the

Near-Earth Object Camera NEO Surveyor, formerly called Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam), then NEO Surveillance Mission, is a planned space-based infrared telescope designed to survey the Solar System for potentially hazardous asteroids.TED conference TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

in 2016. After her

TED talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

, Nugent wrote the book Asteroid Hunters with

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. The talk was also used in a TED-Ed video. In her spare time she produces the podcast ''SpacePod.'' The podcast involves short episodes (15 minute in length) featuring relaxed conversations with space explorers. She serves as one of

The Planetary Society The Planetary Society is an American internationally-active non-governmental nonprofit organization. It is involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy for engineering projects related to astronomy, planetary science, a ...

experts. A question about Nugent's research was once included in

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

Awards and honours

*2012

Team

NASA Group Achievement Award The NASA Group Achievement Award (GAA) is an award given by NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the U ...

* 2013 8801 Nugent named in her honour *2017

Alumni Hall of Fame * 2018 TED Senior Fellow * 2019

Carl Sagan Medal The Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science is an award established by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society to recognize and honor outstanding communication by an active plane ...

Books

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Carrie Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni Olin College faculty American science communicators 1984 births American women scientists American women academics 21st-century American women Mira Costa High School alumni