Anna Frebel
German astronomer
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Anna Frebel (born 1980 in Berlin) is a German astronomer and author working on discovering the oldest stars in the universe.
Anna Frebel | |
|---|---|
Anna Frebel (2022) | |
| Born | 1980 (age 45–46) Berlin, Germany |
| Alma mater | Australian National University |
| Known for | Discovering the oldest stars in the universe |
| Awards | Ludwig Biermann Award Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | MIT Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics University of Texas |
| Thesis | Abundance analysis of bright metal-poor stars from the Hamburg/ESO survey (2006) |
| Doctoral advisor | John Edward Norris |
| Other academic advisors | Martin Asplund Michael Stanley Bessell |
Career
Anna Frebel grew up in Göttingen, Germany.[1] After finishing high school, she began studying physics in Freiburg im Breisgau 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's Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra. Shortly thereafter, a W. J. McDonald Postdoctoral Fellowship brought her to the University of Texas at Austin in 2006, where she continued her studies.[2]
From 2009 to 2011, she was a Clay Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge (MA).
In 2012 she moved to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, achieving promotion to full professor in 2022.[3]
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. 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[4]
- 2009: Opening presentation XLAB Science Festival, Göttingen
- 2009: Ludwig Biermann Award (Young Astronomer Award) of the German Astronomical Society
- 2010: Annie J. Cannon Award of the American Astronomical Society[3]
- 2010: Lise Meitner Lecturer, Göttingen[1][5] and Innsbruck
- 2011: Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow, National Academy of Sciences
- 2022: Fellow of the American Physical Society[6]
Publications (selection)
- Searching for the Oldest Stars — Ancient Relicts from the Early Universe, Princeton University Press, 2014, ISBN 9780691165066
- Auf der Suche nach den ältesten Sternen (in German), Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer Verlage, 2012, ISBN 978-3-10-021512-3
- Astronomical Society of the Pacific, ed. (2008), New horizons in astronomy : Frank N. Bash Symposium 2007 : proceedings of a workshop held at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA, 14–16 October 2007, San Francisco
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