Citizen Science, Galaxy Evolution, Galaxy Formation, Morphology
Research interests: Galaxy formation and evolution. Galaxy kinematics. Galaxy morphologies. Citizen Science (especially in Astronomy). Karen's interests are in the area of extragalactic astronomy. She studies how galaxies formed and evolve in our universe using data from large surveys like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. She is the Project Scientist for Galaxy Zoo and often uses information on galaxy shapes and types collected from this citizen science project in her research.
Distinguished Astronomer ; Chair, Science Staff
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)Cosmology, Galaxy Clusters, Galaxy Evolution, Hubble, Hubble Space Telescope
As the chair of the Space Telescope Science Institute鈥檚 science staff, Dr. Marc Postman works to strengthen the Institute's research productivity by advocating for the needs of the research staff. He monitors the use of research-enabling resources, oversees the peer mentoring program, seeks ways to enhance the scientific environment, and consults with the research staff to guide the institute toward exciting research initiatives. From 2005 to 2019, Dr. Postman led the community missions office, where he guided the institute鈥檚 role in providing science operations support for a number of ground- and space-based observatories that are led by independent astronomical groups in partnership with STScI, Dr. Postman鈥檚 primary research interest has been the formation and evolution of structure in the universe, from galaxies to the largest superclusters. He was a member of the science investigation team for the Advanced Camera for Surveys instrument that was deployed on the Hubble Space Telescope in 2002. From 2010 to 2017, Dr. Postman lead an international team of researchers to conduct a 525-orbit survey with the Hubble telescope to study dark matter in galaxy clusters and to detect some of the most distant galaxies in the universe. Dr. Postman has published over 185 refereed research articles and currently holds the title of Distinguished Astronomer.