Maria Zuber
| Maria T. Zuber | |
|---|---|
Zuber speaking at the GRAIL MoonKAM Student Expo in 2012
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| Born | June 27, 1958 Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Planetary Science |
| Institutions | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania, Brown University |
| Doctoral advisor | Marc Parmentier |
| Known for | Work on NASA remote-sensing missions; Principal investigator for the GRAIL mission |
| Notable awards | NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal |
Maria T. Zuber (born June 27, 1958) is a member of the National Science Board and the Vice President for Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also holds the position of the E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences.[1] Zuber has been involved in more than half a dozen NASA planetary missions aimed at mapping the Moon, Mars, Mercury, and several asteroids. She is currently the principal investigator for the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) Mission, which is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[2]
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Education and professional work
Zuber received her B.A. in astronomy and geology from the University of Pennsylvania. She also earned Sc.M. and Ph.D. degrees, both in geophysics, from Brown University. Zuber later worked at Johns Hopkins University and served as a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. She joined the faculty of MIT in 1998 and was the chair of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences from 2003 to 2012.[1] She is the first woman to lead a science department at MIT.[2] Since 2012, she has been Vice President for Research at MIT.[3]
Zuber's professional focus has been on the structure and tectonics of solid solar system objects. She specializes in using gravity and laser altimetry measurements to determine interior structure and evolution. She has been a team member on 10 NASA planetary missions, including Mars Global Surveyor, Dawn, and MESSENGER.[1][4]
Zuber became interested in planetary science at an early age. A desire to spread her childhood enthusiasm was one reason why she teamed up with former astronaut Sally Ride to include in the GRAIL mission components that would capture the imagination of young students. A student contest provided the names for the mission's two spacecraft, Ebb and Flow, and students can sign up to use GRAIL's Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students (MoonKAM) instrument.[2][5]
Zuber is a member of the following professional societies:[1]
- American Geophysical Union
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- American Astronomical Society, Division for Planetary Sciences
- American Astronautical Society
- Geological Society of America
Honors and awards
Zuber was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal in 2004.[1] In 2008, Zuber received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Brown University. Later that year, along with Fiona Harrison, a physics professor at the California Institute of Technology, she was named as one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report.[6] Zuber and Harrison were the first two women to be selected as scientific leaders of NASA robotic missions.
Publications
List of Maria Zuber publications (PDF)
References
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External links
- Maria Zuber Playlist Appearance on WMBR's Dinnertime Sampler radio show February 16, 2005
- Maria Zuber Playlist Appearance on WMBR's Dinnertime Sampler radio show November 19, 2003
- NASA 360 New Worlds New Discoveries 2/2 on YouTube Retrieved 6/30/2011.
- The World We Dream - Maria Zuber on YouTube Retrieved 10/18/2012.
