Northwestern University astrophysicist Allison Strom has received a 2024 Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The prestigious fellowship includes an unrestricted grant of $875,000 over five years to pursue innovative and experimental research.
The foundation named Strom and 19 other junior faculty members as the nation’s most innovative early-career scientists and engineers.
“The Packard Fellowship affords me and my group the opportunity to explore new directions by combining different expertise from across astronomy and astrophysics,” Strom said. “As a Packard Fellow, I am excited to study the role massive stars in early universe play in shaping the evolution of galaxies — and how we can use these galaxies as laboratories to study stellar astrophysics.”
Strom is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and member of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI).
“This extraordinary class of Fellows joins the community of Packard Fellows who are pushing the boundaries of innovation and discovery to contribute to science and engineering in ways that make a real difference to our world,” said Richard Alley, chair of the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering Advisory Panel and 1991 Packard Fellow. “We look forward to welcoming them to the Packard Fellows community and supporting them as they collaborate, learn and create the future together.”
There are billions of galaxies in the universe, each with its own unique combination of traits. Using the largest telescopes in the world, Strom’s research group observes galaxies throughout cosmic history to determine their internal properties and growth histories. Her goal is to understand why galaxies follow different evolutionary paths.
As part of this work, Strom leads the CECILIA (Chemical Evolution Constrained using Ionized Lines in Interstellar Aurorae) Survey, which uses NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study the chemistry of distant galaxies. Named after Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, one of the first women to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy, the CECILIA Survey observes the spectra (or amount of light across different wavelengths) from distant galaxies to decipher their chemical composition.
“One of the principal goals of modern astronomy is to understand how galaxies formed and evolved in the early universe,” Strom said. “A key piece of evidence is what those galaxies are made of. With CECILIA, we have a chance to directly measure the chemistry of distant galaxies, using an incredibly powerful method that is only possible with JWST. CECILIA will be the cipher, like the Rosetta Stone, that enables astronomers to crack the code and accurately interpret the thousands of other spectra of distant galaxies that JWST will observe throughout its lifetime.”
Since 1988, the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering have encouraged visionary work by providing maximum flexibility through unrestricted funds that can be used in any way the Fellows choose, including paying for both work-related and non-work-related necessities, such as dependent care.
This latitude gives Fellows the opportunity to experiment and lead cutting-edge research to improve our daily lives. From studying endangered species and improving clean energy technology to making connections between DNA and disease and supporting well-rounded health care, the Packard Fellows are contributing to a future where people and nature can flourish.
Fellows have gone on to earn some of the most esteemed recognitions, including Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physics, which includes last year’s Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Moungi Bawendi, and this year’s Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, David Baker. Fellows also have received Fields Medals, Alan T. Waterman Awards, Breakthrough Prizes, Kavli Prizes and elections into the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
The Packard Fellowships were inspired by David Packard’s passion for science and engineering and his commitment to strengthening university-based science and engineering programs in the United States. He recognized that the success of the Hewlett-Packard Company, which he co-founded, was derived in large measure from research and development in university laboratories. It was with this spirit that the Foundation launched the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering program 36 years ago.
Since its inception, the Packard Foundation has awarded nearly $500 million to support 715 scientists and engineers from 55 universities.
Original article by Amanda Morris published on Northwestern Now.