Christine Jones Forman is a senior astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian. She is a past 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 ...

, and was the director of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's Consortium for Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe.

Education and career

In high school Forman attended the Ross Mathematics Program,

Arnold Ross Arnold Ephraim Ross (August 24, 1906 – September 25, 2002) was a mathematician and educator who founded the Ross Mathematics Program, a number theory summer program for gifted high school students. He was born in Chicago, but spent his youth i ...

' summer mathematics program for gifted high school students. She finished high school in

West Carrollton, Ohio West Carrollton is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A Suburb of Dayton. The population was 13,143 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Great Miami River runs through the town and forms ...

before moving to

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

where she earned three astrophysics degrees from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

: an AB in 1971, AM in 1972, and PhD in 1974. During her time as a student, Forman was both a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Astrophysics and a Harvard Junior Fellow. Forman has been an astrophysicist at the

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution, concentrating on astrophysical studies including galactic and extragalactic astronomy, cosmology, solar, earth and planetary sciences, the ...

since 1973 and previously served as the head of the Chandra Calibration Group from 1990–2010. In 2010, Forman was named director of the Consortium for Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe, and became one of four directors of the

’s Consortia for the Four Grand Challenges of the Strategic Plan.

Honors

In 1985, Forman and her husband William R. Forman were the first recipients of the

Bruno Rossi Prize The Bruno Rossi Prize is awarded annually by the High Energy Astrophysics division of the American Astronomical Society "for a significant contribution to High Energy Astrophysics, with particular emphasis on recent, original work". Named after as ...

, an award given annually by the

"for a significant contribution to High Energy Astrophysics, with particular emphasis on recent, original work." They received a $500 reward and a certificate "for pioneering work in the study of X-ray emission from early type galaxies." In 2013, Forman became the 14th recipient of the Secretary's Distinguished Research Lecture Award of the

Personal life

Forman is married to astrophysicist Bill Forman. Together they have three children: Julia, Daniel, and Miranda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forman, Christine Jones American astrophysicists Women astrophysicists 21st-century American women scientists Harvard College alumni People from Montgomery County, Ohio Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni