Elizabeth Lada is an American

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 ...

whose self-described research interests include "understanding the origin, properties, evolution and fate of young embedded clusters within molecular clouds".

Life

Lada received her Bachelor of Science in Physics degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1983 and her Ph.D. in astronomy from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a 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 students as of fall 2 ...

in 1990. Lada is currently Professor of Astronomy at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Recognition

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 ...

(AAS) honored her work by awarding her the Annie J. Cannon Prize in 1992. She also was named as a Hubble Fellow during her work at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. She was awarded a

NSF CAREER award The National Science Foundation CAREER award is the most prestigious award presented by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States Federal Government to support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through rese ...

in 1999. In 1998 she received a

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...

(PECASE). She was named a Fellow of the AAS in 2023, "for pioneering the use of infrared array detectors to push ground-based infrared imaging limits and survey giant molecular clouds for obscured populations of young stars; for transformative work on a broad range of problems in star formation including constraining the initial mass function within giant molecular clouds and performing the first robust measurements of the frequency and lifetimes of circumstellar disks in young clusters; and for extensive service to the astronomical community as a member of many boards and committees".

References

American women astronomers Yale University alumni University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences alumni University of Florida faculty Hubble Fellows Fellows of the American Astronomical Society Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences {{US-astronomer-stub