Megan Donahue 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 ...

who studies galaxies and

galaxy cluster A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. Clusters consist of galax ...

s. She is a professor of physics and astrophysics at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, and the president 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 ...

for the 2018–2020 term. Donahue

Education and career

Donahue graduated in physics from the

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 ...

in 1985, and completed her PhD in astrophysics from the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

in 1990 under the supervision of J. Michael Shull and John T. Stocke. After postdoctoral research at the

Carnegie Institution for Science The Carnegie Institution for Science, also known as Carnegie Science and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is an organization established to fund and perform scientific research in the United States. This institution is headquartered in W ...

she joined the

Space Telescope Science Institute The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for the ...

for a second postdoctoral visit in 1993, and stayed on there in other capacities until joining the Michigan State faculty in 2003.

Books

She is a co-author of three books in the Pearson Cosmic Perspective Series of astronomy textbooks: ''The Cosmic Perspective'' (8th ed., 2016, also published as two separate volumes), ''The Essential Cosmic Perspective'' (7th ed., 2014), and ''The Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals'' (2nd ed., 2015).

Awards and honors

Donahue was the 1993 winner of the Robert J. Trumpler Award for best recent dissertation in astronomy. In 2012 she became a

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 ...

of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, and in 2016 she was elected as a fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donahue, Megan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women astronomers Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni University of Colorado Boulder alumni Michigan State University faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science