Jennifer Lynn Bartlett is an American astronomer, the Kinnear Chair of Physics at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, and former Chief of the Software Products Division in the Astronomical Applications Department of the

United States Naval Observatory United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the Depo ...

. Her interests include the development of software for

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way. His ...

, the accurate measurements of distances to nearby stars,

celestial navigation Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is the practice of position fixing using stars and other celestial bodies that enables a navigator to accurately determine their actual current physical position in space (or on the surface of ...

, the effects of the atmosphere on the brightness of the sky and celestial objects, the

history of astronomy Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, mythological, cosmological, calendrical, and astrological beliefs and practices of prehistory: vestiges of these are still found in ...

, and the preservation of historical astronomical data.

Education and career

Bartlett has held a lifelong interest in astronomy, and was given her first telescope as a teenager. After beginning her undergraduate education at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, she transferred to the

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

, and earned a bachelor's degree in physics there, in 1990. After working in the computer and aerospace industries, she returned to graduate study at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1997, and earned a Ph.D. there in 2007. Her dissertation, ''Knowing Our Neighbors: Fundamental Properties of Nearby Stars'', was directed by Philip A. Ianna. While completing her doctorate, Bartlett was a visiting assistant professor at

Hampden–Sydney College gr, Ye Shall Know the Truth , established = , type = Private liberal arts men's college , religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA) , endowment = $258 million (2021) , president = Larry Stimpert , city = Hampden Sydney, Virginia , cou ...

in Virginia. She began working for the

in 2007, and in 2010 became Chief of the Software Products Division in the Astronomical Applications Department. She moved to the

as Kinnear Chair of Physics in 2021.

Books

Bartlett is a coauthor of the book ''Solar System: Between Fire and Ice'' (with Thomas Hockey and Daniel C. Boice, CRC Press, 2021). She became co-editor-in-chief of the ''

Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers The ''Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers'' (''BEA'') is a two-volume biographical dictionary, first published in 2007, with a second edition released in 2014. The work covers astronomers from all geographies, born from antiquity to mid-191 ...

'' in 2020.

Recognition

Bartlett was named a Legacy Fellow 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 ...

in 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Jennifer Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American astronomers American women astronomers Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni University of Virginia alumni United States Naval Academy faculty Fellows of the American Astronomical Society