Sandra M. Faber

Professor Sandra M. Faber is a University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and serves as an Astronomer at UC Observatories/Lick Observatory. She is affiliated with the Center for Adaptive Optics and works extensively with the Keck and Lick telescopes, as well as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

Educational Background:

• B.A., Swarthmore College
• Ph.D., Harvard University

Research Interests center on galaxy formation and evolution, large-scale cosmic structure, and stellar populations. Her work includes measuring peculiar motions of local galaxies, analyzing mass-to-light ratios in elliptical galaxies, and studying distant galaxy clusters using lookback techniques. She contributes to the DEIMOS (Deep-Imaging Multiobject Spectrograph) and DEEP (Deep Extragalactic Evolutionary Probe) projects, focusing on extragalactic surveys and instrument development.

Collaborations extend to former students, particularly through HST projects like stellar population analysis in globular clusters and black hole detection via spectroscopy. Her research integrates dark matter simulations and observational data from advanced telescopes.