Claudia Megan Urry is an American astrophysicist, who has served as 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 ...

, as chair of the Department of Physics at Yale University, and as part of the Hubble Space Telescope faculty.Eileen Pollack
"Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science?"
'' New York Times'', Oct. 6, 2013. She is currently the Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Yale University and Director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. Urry is notable not only for her contributions to astronomy and astrophysics, including work on

black holes A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can def ...

and multiwavelength surveys, but also for her work addressing sexism and sex equality in astronomy, science, and academia more generally.

Early life and education

After growing up in Indiana and Massachusetts, Urry attended college at Tufts University, double-majoring in mathematics and physics,Karen Masters
"She's an Astronomer: Meg Urry"
''Galaxy Zoo'' (May 2, 2010) graduating in 1977."Meg Urry"
(faculty profile), Yale University She became interested in astronomy during the summer of her junior year when she interned at the

National Radio Astronomy Observatory The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a federally funded research and development center of the United States National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. for the purpose of radio a ...

. Urry earned an M.S. (1979) and a Ph.D. (1984) in physics from

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

, where her advisor was Art Davidsen. For her dissertation, she studied blazars at

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 ...

with Richard Mushotzky.

Career

After finishing her Ph.D., Urry conducted a post-doctorate at M.I.T.'s Center for Space Research, working with

Claude Canizares Claude R. Canizares is an American physicist who stepped down June 30, 2015 from his post as Vice President of MIT. He remains the Bruno Rossi Professor of Physics at MIT and associate director for MIT of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center. ...

. This was followed by another post-doctorate at the Space Telescope Science Institute, after which, in 1990, the Institute hired her as a full-time astronomer. Urry joined Yale's faculty in 2001, at that time as the only woman in the department. She served as Chair of the Yale Physics Department from 2007 to 2013. From 2013 to 2017 she served in the Presidential line of the American Astronomical Society, from 2013-2014 as President-Elect, 2014-2016 as President, and 2016-2017 as Past President. In 2020 she was named one of the American Astronomical Society's inaugural class of fellows. Urry has been active in addressing sex inequality in astronomy and science more generally, giving more than 60 talks on the topic, including at the annual Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP). With

Laura Danly Laura Danly, Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. (born July 7, 1958) is an American astronomer and academic who served as Curator of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. She has also served as chair of the Department of Space Sciences at the Denver Mus ...

, Urry co-organized the first meeting of Women in Astronomy in 1992. This meeting produced the "Baltimore Charter," which was drafted by

Sheila Tobias Sheila Tobias (April 26, 1935 – July 6, 2021) was an American college administrator who studied the gender gap in math and science at the college level. Early life Tobias was born in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest daughter of Paul Tobias a ...

and eventually endorsed by the Council of the American Astronomical Society. Reducing the prevalence of sexual harassment in astronomy was also an area of focus for Urry during the time she was President of the American Astronomical Society. Urry has published over 330 papers in refereed journals. She studies supermassive black holes, known as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and the relationship of normal galaxies to AGNs. She and her research group participated in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to investigate the growth of supermassive black holes.

Awards and honors

* 1976, 1977, N. Hobbs Knight Award for Physics from Tufts University * 1976, Phi Beta Kappa * 1990,

Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy The Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy is awarded annually by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) to a woman resident of North America, who is within five years of receipt of a PhD, for distinguished contributions to astronomy or for similar ...

* 1999,

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 k ...

Fellow * 2006, American Women in Science Fellow * 2007, Connecticut Academy of Science & Engineering * 2008, American Academy of Arts and Sciences * 2010, Women in Space Science Award * 2012,

George Van Biesbroeck Prize The George Van Biesbroeck Prize is an award for long-term achievements in the field of astronomy. According to the American Astronomical Society awards website; "The Van Biesbroeck prize is normally awarded every two years and honors a living indi ...

* 2016,

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

*2020,

Fellow *2023,

High Energy Astrophysics Division Distinguished Career Prize

References

External links

"Meg Urry"
(faculty profile), Yale University
Oral History Interview
conducted July 1, 2020, American Institute of Physics
The Baltimore Charter for Women in Astronomy
" Space Telescope Science Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Urry, Meg Yale University faculty Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni American astrophysicists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Women astronomers Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Scientific American people

Early life and education

Career

Awards and honors

Further reading

References

External links