Barbara A. Williams
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of Maryland, College Park
Known forRadio astronomy
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Delaware
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Doctoral advisorFrank John Kerr

Barbara Ann Williams is an American radio astronomer who wa the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in astronomy (University of Maryland, College Park, 1981). Her research largely focused on compact galaxy groups, in particular observations of their emissions in the H I region in order to build up a larger scale picture of the structure and evolution of galaxies. Williams was named as the Outstanding Young Woman of America in 1986. She is a retired associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Delaware.

Early life and education

Williams earned her bachelor's degree in physics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.[1] She moved to the University of Maryland, College Park for her graduate studies, earning a Master's and PhD in the field of radio astronomy in 1981.[2][3] She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. Williams was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in astronomy.[1] She studied elliptical galaxies using HI emissions.[4] She returned to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as a research associate, where she worked until 1984. In 1984 Williams was appointed as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She spent a year as a NASA-American Society for Engineering Education summer faculty member at the Goddard Space Flight Center.[5] She was named as the 1986 Outstanding Young Woman of America.[5]

Career

Williams's research focused on radio astronomy and the study of galaxies.[6][7] She used radio waves to examine groups of galaxies with compact cores[8][9][10][11] and HI emissions to study several galaxies, including the IC 698 group.[12][13] Williams's work on the Hickson Compact Group of galaxies established that atomic gases must undergo a phase transformation to result in the observed HI deficiency.[14] She used VLA neutral hydrogen imaging of compact galaxy groups.[15][16]

Williams was made an associate professor at the University of Delaware in 1986.[1] There, Williams later studied educational research[17] and in particular strategies to retain women in physics.[18] Williams is a Fellow of the National Society of Black Physicists.[19]

Along with Sheella Mierson, Williams was the co-principal investigator of a study on problem-based learning in introductory sciences, in the Center for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Delaware.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "ASTRONOMERS of the African Diaspora (1997-05-27)". www.math.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  2. ↑ Ph.D, Omoviekovwa A. Nakireru (2010-04-19). The Physics Queen: Authorized Biography of Dr. Elvira Louvenia Williams. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 9781450080965.
  3. ↑ "The Physicists – AAWIP". Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  4. ↑ Knapp, G. R.; Kerr, F. J.; Williams, B. A. (1978). "H I observations of elliptical galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal. 222: 800. Bibcode:1978ApJ...222..800K. doi:10.1086/156199.
  5. 1 2 "Women in Astronomy 2009 - Invited Speakers". attic.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  6. ↑ simioju (2012-07-26). "Black women making their mark in space and science (SLIDESHOW) - Page 2 of 2". theGrio. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  7. ↑ "W-Z - Women in Astronomy: A Comprehensive Bibliography (Science Reference Services, Library of Congress)". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  8. ↑ Carey, Charles W. (2008). African Americans in Science: An Encyclopedia of People and Progress. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851099986.
  9. ↑ "DELAWARE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: DAS MONTHLY PROGRAMS - 1984 to Date" (PDF). www.eecis.udel.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  10. ↑ Williams, B. A. (March 1985). "MKW 10 - A group of galaxies with a compact core". The Astrophysical Journal. 290: 462. Bibcode:1985ApJ...290..462W. doi:10.1086/163004. ISSN 0004-637X.
  11. ↑ Rood, Herbert J.; Williams, B. A. (April 1989). "The neighborhood of a compact group of galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal. 339: 772. Bibcode:1989ApJ...339..772R. doi:10.1086/167335. ISSN 0004-637X.
  12. ↑ Williams, B. A. (August 1983). "The IC 698 group of galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal. 271: 461. Bibcode:1983ApJ...271..461W. doi:10.1086/161213. ISSN 0004-637X.
  13. ↑ Mardirossian, F.; Giuricin, G.; Mezetti, M. (2012-12-06). Clusters and Groups of Galaxies: International Meeting Held in Trieste Italy, September 13–16, 1983. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9789400964129.
  14. ↑ Verdes-Montenegro, L.; Yun, M.S.; Williams, B. A.; Huchtmeier, W. K.; Del Olmo, A.; Perea, J. (2001-10-01). "Where is the neutral atomic gas in Hickson groups?". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 377 (3): 812–826. arXiv:astro-ph/0108223. Bibcode:2001A&A...377..812V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20011127. ISSN 0004-6361. S2CID 14562994.
  15. ↑ Williams, B. A.; McMahon, P. M.; van Gorkom, J. H. (June 1991). "VLA neutral hydrogen imaging of compact groups of galaxies. II - HCG 31, 44, and 79". The Astronomical Journal. 101: 1957. Bibcode:1991AJ....101.1957W. doi:10.1086/115820. ISSN 0004-6256.
  16. ↑ Williams, B. A.; Rood, Herbert J. (February 1987). "Neutral hydrogen in compact groups of galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 63: 265. Bibcode:1987ApJS...63..265W. doi:10.1086/191165. ISSN 0067-0049.
  17. ↑ "NSF Award Search: Award#0089408 - Problem-Based Learning and Physics: Developing problem solving skills in all students". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  18. ↑ Williams, Barbara A.; Taylor, Beverley A. P.; Shaw, Kimberly A.; Butler, Heather Z.; Blaha, Cynthia A.; Allen, Patricia E.; Duncombe, Margaret L.; Dorato, Shannon R.; Whitten, Barbara L. (2007). "What Works for Women in Undergraduate Physics and What We Can Learn from Women's Colleges". Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering. 13 (1): 37–76. Bibcode:2007JWMSE..13...37W. doi:10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.v13.i1.30. ISSN 1072-8325.
  19. ↑ "NSBP Fellows". www.nsbp.org. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  20. ↑ "Problem-Based Learning in Introductory Science Across Disciplines". www1.udel.edu. 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
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