Judith Young (astronomer)

Career

Young received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Astronomy from Harvard University and graduated with Honors. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from the University of Minnesota.

Young began a postdoctoral fellowship at UMass in 1979, collaborating with Nick Z. Scoville in a study which measured the cold gas and carbon monoxide content of galaxies. The pair made the discovery that the distribution of light and gas is proportional in galaxies. The American Astronomical Society awarded her the Annie J. Cannon Prize for this work in 1982.

Young became an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1985. In 1989, Young was promoted to associate professor with tenure, and became a Full Professor in 1993. She published more than 130 papers, mentored 5 Ph.D. candidates, and supervised 15 undergraduate research projects.

Young is perhaps best known for her Sunwheel project. Young's goal for this project was to bring astronomy down to earth and to an empty lot behind the football stadium at the UMass-Amherst campus. In addition to her academic work, Young volunteered on the UMass campus and in her local community.