Stefi Baum (born December 11, 1958, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

) 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 ...

. 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 ...

honored her work by awarding her the Annie J. Cannon Prize in 1993. Baum helped to develop the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the Orbiting Solar Observatory, first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ...

and, starting in 2004, was the director of

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

’s Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science.

Early life

Baum was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 11, 1958. She is the daughter of mathematician Leonard Baum. She attended Princeton Public High School in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, and graduated in 1976. Baum received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in physics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and graduated with distinction, and a PhD in astronomy from 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 is currently the dean of the Faculty of Science and professor of physics and astronomy at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

Career

Baum is the dean of the faculty of science at the University of Manitoba and is a professor of physics and astronomy. Prior to this, Baum was the Cashin Fellowship at the

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, is an institute of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts ...

from September 2011 to July 2012. In 2002 Baum became the Senior Science/Diplomacy Fellow at the US Department of State and the

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

Diplomacy Fellow program, leaving the position in 2004. Baum served as division head for engineering and software services at 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 ...

(STScI) from 1999 to 2002. During her period there she also held the position of deputy, science and engineering support division in 1999. From 1996 to 1998, Baum was the Branch Chief, Spectrographs Team, STScI. From 1991 to 1995 Baum, was an archive scientist at STScI. In 1990 to 1991 Baum had a fellowship at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. From 1987 to 1990, Baum conducted research in astronomy at the Netherlands' Foundation for Research in Astronomy, Dwingeloo, NL. As of November 2023, she is a member of the International Astronomical Union.

Awards

Baum has won many awards throughout her career, including: * 1993: Annie Jump Cannon Award awarded annually to a young female astronomer for Scientific Excellence and Promise * 1993:

Group Achievement Award, Archive Development/Deployment * 1993: Space Telescope Science Institute Individual Achievement Award, Archive Development/Deployment * 1996: Space Telescope Science Institute Group Achievement Award, Data Quality Project * 1996: Space Telescope Science Institute Individual Achievement Award, Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph * 1996: Space Telescope Science Institute Group Achievement Award, Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Team * 1999:

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 ...

Excellence Award, Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 3A * 1999: Rolex Achievement Award- given annually to one female and one male college lacrosse player for career achievements supporting society. * 2002: Space Telescope Science Institute Individual Achievement Award, for Management and Leadership * 2002/2003:

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

Fellowship * 2005: Rochester Institute of Technology Million Dollar Club- for securing more than 1 Million dollars in external grants and contracts * 2020: Elected a Legacy Fellow of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baum, Stefi 1958 births Living people American women astronomers 21st-century Canadian astronomers Academic staff of the University of Manitoba Harvard College alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy Fellows of the American Astronomical Society 20th-century American astronomers