معرفی
Alyssa Goodman is the Robert Wheeler Willson Professor of Applied Astronomy at Harvard University and a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution. She is affiliated with Harvard’s Data Science Initiative and previously served as founding Director of Harvard’s Initiative in Innovative Computing and co-Director for Science at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
Goodman earned her undergraduate degree in Physics from MIT in 1984 and a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University in 1989. She became a full professor at Harvard in 1999.
Her research spans astrophysics, data visualization, and predictive modeling, with a focus on analyzing astronomical data volumes and understanding the Milky Way’s structure. She pioneers tools for 3D dust mapping, including the discovery of the Radcliffe Wave, and leads the glue software project for high-dimensional data visualization across disciplines. Her interdisciplinary work extends to bioinformatics via glue genes and science education through the WorldWide Telescope Universe Information System.
Goodman has served as Chair of the Astronomy Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and contributed to national data science governance via the National Academy's Board on Research Data and Information. Her work traces the historical evolution of prediction from ancient practices to modern simulations.
Key scientific awards include:
- Newton Lacy Pierce Prize (1997)
- Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009)
- Harvard Foundation Scientist of the Year (2015)
- Frank Drake Award
- Patrusky Lecture Award
