When she was an eight-year-old living on Long Island, Alyssa Goodman, Ph.D. '89, wrote to two oceanic research centers, Scripps and Woods Hole. “I wanted to be Jacques Cousteau,” she says. She has since shifted her gaze from deep sea to outer space. Last year, she was appointed professor of astronomy, becoming the second female full professor in that department—and the third in its history. (Nationally, only 5 percent of tenured astronomers are female.) Goodman's research explores the preconditions for star formation, a phenomenon that arises in cores within molecular clouds; gravity, magnetic fields, and gigantic outflows of gas ejected from young stars all play roles. Goodman studied physics at MIT, where a turning point came after her junior year: a Goddard Institute for Space Studies summer program offered her a $2,000 grant, edging out an archaeological dig in the Caribbean that would have cost $2,000. “I went into astronomy for the money!” she laughs. That summer's research led her into astrophysics. Now she has a $75-million grant application at NASA for a satellite that could map the Milky Way's magnetic fields, and teaches undergraduate tutorials, plus graduate courses in radio astronomy and the interstellar medium. A Cantabrigian since 17 (save for three postdoctoral years at Berkeley), Goodman and her husband, associate professor of government Edward Schwartz, now live in Lexington with their two-year-old daughter, Abigail. Goodman sometimes competes in rollerblade races, a breeze compared to astrophysics. “Astronomy is difficult,” she says. “You can only observe; the subject of your experiment is something you can't experiment on.”
Alyssa Goodman
When she was an eight-year-old living on Long Island, Alyssa Goodman, Ph.D. '89, wrote to two oceanic research centers, Scripps and Woods Hole. "I wanted to be Jacques Cousteau," ...
You might also like
Historic Humor
University Archives to preserve Harvard Lampoon materials
Academia’s Absence from Homelessness
“The lack of dedicated research funding in this area is a major, major problem.”
The Enterprise Research Campus, Part Two
Tishman Speyer signals readiness to pursue approval for second phase of commercial development.
Most popular
More to explore
Exploring Political Tribalism and American Politics
Mina Cikara explores how political tribalism feeds the American bipartisan divide.
Private Equity in Medicine and the Quality of Care
Hundreds of U.S. hospitals are owned by private equity firms—does monetizing medicine affect the quality of care?
Construction on Commercial Enterprise Research Campus in Allston
Construction on Harvard’s commercial enterprise research campus and new theater in Allston