Barbara Ann Williams is an American

radio astronomer Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming f ...

who was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

woman to earn a PhD in astronomy (

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

, 1981). Her research largely focused on compact galaxy groups, in particular observations of their emissions in the

H I region An HI region or H I region (read ''H one'') is a cloud in the interstellar medium composed of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI), in addition to the local abundance of helium and other elements. (H is the chemical symbol for hydrogen, and "I" is the Ro ...

in order to build up a larger scale picture of the structure and evolution of galaxies. Williams was named as the Outstanding Young Woman of America in 1986. She is a retired associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

Early life and education

Williams earned her bachelor's degree in physics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She moved to the

for her graduate studies, earning a Master's and PhD in the field of radio astronomy in 1981. She was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

academic honor society. Williams was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in astronomy. She studied elliptical galaxies using HI emissions. She returned to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as a research associate, where she worked until 1984. In 1984 Williams was appointed as a postdoctoral fellow at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. She spent a year as a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

- American Society for Engineering Education summer faculty member at the

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...

. She was named as the 1986 Outstanding Young Woman of America.

Career

Williams's research focused on radio astronomy and the study of galaxies. She used

radio wave Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz (GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (short ...

s to examine groups of galaxies with compact cores and HI emissions to study several galaxies, including the IC 698 group. Williams's work on the

Hickson Compact Group A Hickson Compact Group (abbreviation: HCG) is a collection of galaxies designated as published by Paul Hickson in 1982. The most famous group on Hickson's list of 100 objects is HCG 92, Stephan's Quintet. Hickson Compact Groups According to Hic ...

of galaxies established that atomic gases must undergo a phase transformation to result in the observed HI deficiency. She used VLA

neutral hydrogen The hydrogen line, 21 centimeter line, or H I line is the electromagnetic radiation spectral line that is created by a change in the energy state of neutral hydrogen atoms. This electromagnetic radiation has a precise frequency of , w ...

imaging of compact galaxy groups. Williams was made an associate professor at the

in 1986. There, Williams later studied

educational research Educational research refers to the systematic collection and analysis of data related to the field of education. Research may involve a variety of methods and various aspects of education including student learning, teaching methods, teacher trai ...

and in particular strategies to retain women in physics. Williams is a Fellow of the National Society of Black Physicists. Along with Sheella Mierson, Williams was the co-principal investigator of a study on problem-based learning in introductory sciences, in the Center for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Delaware.

External links

Profile on Astronomers of the African Diaspora

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Barbara A. University of North Carolina alumni University System of Maryland alumni American astrophysicists University of Delaware faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Radio astronomers African-American physicists African-American women scientists