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Marcia Rieke, a scientist who worked on NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope, has received the Gruber Foundation\u2019s 2024 Cosmology Prize. Rieke will receive the award and gold laureate pin at a ceremony August 8, 2024, at the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Cape Town, South Africa.<\/p>\n
Rieke was awarded the prize \u201cfor her pioneering work on astronomical instrumentation to reveal the breadth and details of the infrared universe. Her contributions to flagship space missions have opened new avenues for understanding the history and mechanisms of star and galaxy formation. She enabled the development and delivery of premier instruments providing groundbreaking sensitivity to near-infrared wavelengths to both the Webb and the Hubble telescopes. Through these substantive contributions along with earlier work, Marcia Rieke has had a lasting impact on our understanding of the universe,\u201d according to the Gruber Foundation\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
The Cosmology Prize honors a leading cosmologist, astronomer, astrophysicist, or scientific philosopher for theoretical, analytical, conceptual, or observational discoveries leading to fundamental advances in our understanding of the universe. Since 2001, the Cosmology Prize has been cosponsored by the International Astronomical Union. Presented annually, the Cosmology Prize acknowledges and encourages further exploration in a field that shapes the way we perceive and comprehend our universe.<\/p>\n
Rieke is Regents\u2019 Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona and was the principal investigator for the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the Webb telescope.<\/p>\n
As principal investigator for the NIRCam, Rieke was responsible for ensuring that the instrument was built and delivered on time and on budget. She worked with the engineers at Lockheed Martin who built NIRCam and helped them decipher and meet the instruments\u2019 requirements.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs principal investigator of the James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam instrument, Dr. Rieke\u2019s vision, dedication, and leadership were inspirational to the entire team and a key contribution to the success of the Webb telescope,\u201d said Lee Feinberg, Webb telescope manager and optics lead at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rieke\u2019s research interests include infrared observations of the center of the Milky Way and of other galactic nuclei. She has served as the deputy principal investigator on the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer for the Hubble Space Telescope (NICMOS), and the outreach coordinator for NASA\u2019s retired Spitzer Space Telescope.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a leading scientist on a premiere Hubble Space Telescope science camera, NICMOS, Dr. Rieke\u2019s expertise enabled ground-breaking discoveries on everything from star formation to distant galaxies,\u201d said Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, Hubble Space Telescope senior project scientist at NASA Goddard. \u201cSubsequent cameras on Hubble, and infrared space telescopes like Spitzer and Webb, have built upon Dr. Rieke\u2019s pioneering work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Rieke has also poured herself into wide international scientific leadership, leading countless scientific panels that envision and shape the best instruments for future powerful astronomical discovery,\u201d Wiseman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a story beginning to emerge,\u201d Rieke said about the science Webb has returned in the first two years of its mission. \u201cBut we still need some more pieces to the story.\u201d For the duration of Webb\u2019s lifetime, many of those pieces will emerge from the instrument that Rieke led.<\/p>\n
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world\u2019s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).<\/p>\n
Rob Gutro
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/p>\n<\/div>\n