Catherine Zucker Selected For NSF’s Top Early Career Prize

Harvard Lecturer in Astronomy Catherine Zucker has been selected for a top award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for early career researchers. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program offers the NSF's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. 

“It is an honor to be selected for a CAREER award, and I look forward to the opportunity to grow my research and outreach programs with NSF support over the next five years,” said Catherine Zucker.

Dr. Zucker’s research focuses on developing novel techniques to tease out the 3D structure and dynamics of the Milky Way galaxy, using a combination of observations, simulations, astrostatistics, and data visualization to produce new models of our Milky Way’s interstellar medium--with the underlying goal of generating physically motivated connections between star formation and the broader galactic environment. Much of my work involves the use of "big data" and high-performance computing via a technique called 3D Dust Mapping, which leverages stellar photometry and astrometry to chart the 3D spatial distribution of interstellar dust in the Milky Way.

Dr. Zucker received her undergraduate degree in astrophysics from the University of Virginia and Master’s and Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University. Before joining the SAO in 2023, she spent two years as a Hubble Fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute.