Anna Frebel (born 1980 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

) is a German

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

working on discovering the oldest stars in the universe.

Career

Anna Frebel grew up in

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

, Germany. 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 The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

Mount Stromlo Observatory Mount Stromlo Observatory located just outside Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University (ANU). History The observatory was established in 1924 as The Commonweal ...

in Canberra. A W. J. McDonald Postdoctoral Fellowship brought her to the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

in 2006, where she continued her studies. From 2009 to 2011, she was a Clay Postdoctoral

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

at the

Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics The Center for Astrophysics , Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), alternatively called the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is an astrophysics research institute jointly operated by the Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astr ...

in Cambridge (MA). In 2012 she moved to

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, achieving promotion to full professor in 2022.Anna Frebel
at MIT Physics

Discoveries

In 2005, Frebel discovered the star

HE 1327-2326 HE 1327-2326, discovered in 2005 by Anna Frebel and collaborators, was the star with the lowest known iron abundance until SMSS J031300.36−670839.3 was discovered. The star is a member of Population II stars, with a solar-standardised ...

, 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 * 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 * 2010: Lise Meitner Lecturer, Göttingen and Innsbruck * 2011: Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow, National Academy of Sciences * 2022: Fellow of the American Physical Society

Publications (selection)

* * *

References

External links

Anna Frebel
at MIT Physics
Anna Frebel
Princeton University Press
Anna Frebel
fischerverlage.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Frebel, Anna 21st-century German astronomers Women astronomers Living people 1980 births Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy Ludwig Biermann Award winners Scientists from Göttingen 21st-century German women scientists Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society