Wikipedia

Constance M. Rockosi

Constance "Connie" Mary Rockosi (born c. 1972[1]) is a professor and former department chair in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[2] She earned her PhD in 2001 and helped design the camera for the telescope that was used as part of the initial Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).[3][4] She also was in charge of the SDSS-III domain for the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) project[5] and is the primary investigator on SEGUE-2.[6] Her focuses involve the study of the Milky Way galaxy, with a focus on the evolution that it took to reach its current state.[7]

Constance M. Rockosi
Born1972 (age 51–52)
Education
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
Institutions
ThesisDetection and analysis of the tidal tails around the globular cluster Palomar 5 in the SDSS commissioning data (2001)
Doctoral advisorDonald G. York

Early life and education

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Rockosi completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University, earning a BSE. in electrical engineering. During her degree, she worked with James Gunn on the camera for SDSS-I/II.[8]

She received a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago in 2001.[4][9] Part of her graduate research work was developing the imaging camera for the SDSS,[3][10] which she still helps to maintain.[4]

Career and research

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After graduating, Rockosi was a Hubble postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle[11] until 2004 when she became an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).[4][12]

Rockosi is currently a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the UCSC and Astronomer at University of California Observatories (UCO)/Lick Observatory.[7] She became a full professor in 2012.[12] She is Technical Laboratories Associate Director at UCSC and has previously been Chair of the Astronomy and Astrophysics department.[13] She is Commissioning Scientist and calibration scientist on the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI).[13][14] She served as the interim director of UCO from the retirement of Claire Max in July 2021 until the appointment of Bruce McIntosh in September 2022.[15][16][17]

Rockosi was a lead on the SDSS-III area of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) project which used light spectra from over 200,000 stars in the Milky Way to map out the galaxy.[5][18] She was also a principal investigator on SEGUE-2.[6]

Rockosi is heavily involved in detector design and calibration. She works or has worked on detectors for the SDSS, the Keck Cosmic Reionization Mapper, the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, the DESI and the Keck Planet Finder.[13]

She believes that through the study of our own galaxy, and the way that it formed - sometimes called "galactic archeology",[19] we can understand the formation of other galaxies during the redshift phase of their creation. Her work uses the position, motion, and chemical composition of ancient stars to better inform our understanding of the Milky Way's evolution and properties.[6][20] Rockosi is interested in furthering understanding of dark energy throughout the universe through her leadership on the DESI project.[21]

Her research has continued to help her and her students understand the reasons why spiral galaxies form and exist as they do today.[22] One focus of her research is to explore the effects of major accretion events in the formation of the Milky Way. In particular, her interests include studying the metal content of stars and the distribution of metal within the galaxy.[23][24]

In 2010, Rockosi appeared in a documentary film called "The Joy of Stats".[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Mapping the Sky". UC Santa Cruz Newscenter. 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  2. ^ "Faculty Directory". UC Santa Cruz Astronomy & Astrophysics. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  3. ^ a b Koppes, Steve (15 November 2007). "Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Universe of data changes face of astronomy". Chronicle. 27 (5). Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d "UCO Lick Observatory". ucolick.org.
  5. ^ a b Janek, Vanessa (6 January 2015). "Hearing the Early Universe's Scream: Sloan Survey Announces New Findings". Universe Today. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Moskowitz, Clara (10 January 2012). "Milky Way Galaxy's Past Revealed Through New Star Census". Space. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  7. ^ a b "UCSC Faculty Pages".
  8. ^ "Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Largest Color Image of the Sky Ever Made". www.spaceref.com. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  9. ^ Rockosi, Constance M. (2001). "Detection and analysis of the tidal tails around the globular cluster Palomar 5 in the SDSS commissioning data /". catalog.lib.uchicago.edu. OCLC 49951058. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  10. ^ "New Sky Atlas Opens to First Pages". www.science.org. 8 June 1998. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  11. ^ "2017 and Prior Fellows". STScI.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  12. ^ a b Rockosi, Constance (2017). "Constance M. Rockosi" (PDF). Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  13. ^ a b c "UCO Technical Laboratories". University of California Observatories. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  14. ^ "Dark Energy Instrument's Lenses See the Night Sky for the First Time". Tech Explorist. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  15. ^ "UCO Advisory Committee". University of California Observatories. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  16. ^ Stephens, Tim. "Claire Max to retire as director of UC Observatories". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  17. ^ Stephens, Tim. "Astrophysicist Bruce Macintosh appointed director of UC Observatories". UC Santa Cruz Newscenter. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  18. ^ Yanny, Brian; Rockosi, Constance; Newberg, Heidi Jo; Knapp, Gillian R.; Adelman-McCarthy, Jennifer K.; Alcorn, Bonnie; Allam, Sahar; Prieto, Carlos Allende; An, Deokkeun; Anderson, Kurt S. J.; Anderson, Scott (2009-04-07). "SEGUE: A SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY OF 240,000 STARS WITHg= 14-20". The Astronomical Journal. 137 (5): 4377–4399. arXiv:0902.1781. Bibcode:2009AJ....137.4377Y. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/137/5/4377. ISSN 0004-6256. S2CID 39279981.
  19. ^ "Deep in Space". City on a Hill Press. 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  20. ^ "NSF Award Search: Award # 1616540 - Learning how the Milky Way was Assembled through Measurements of Positions, Velocities and Elements in Stars in the Halo". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  21. ^ Stephens, Tim. "DESI opens its 5,000 eyes to capture the colors of the cosmos". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  22. ^ "Chemical Abundance Trends in the Milky Way Disk: Implications on the Origin of the Galactic Thick Disk". eScholarship. UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California: UC Santa Cruz. June 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  23. ^ Lai, David K.; Rockosi, Constance M.; Bolte, Michael; Johnson, Jennifer A.; Beers, Timothy C.; Lee, Young Sun; Prieto, Carlos Allende; Yanny, Brian (20 May 2009). "A Unique Star in the Outer Halo of the Milky Way". The Astrophysical Journal. doi:10.15781/T23T9D87M. ISSN 0004-637X.
  24. ^ Lee, Young Sun; Beers, Timothy C.; Masseron, Thomas; Plez, Bertrand; Rockosi, Constance M.; Sobeck, Jennifer; Yanny, Brian; Lucatello, Sara; Sivarani, Thirupathi; Placco, Vinicius M.; Carollo, Daniela (2013-10-17). "Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor Stars in SDSS/Segue. I. Carbon Abundance Estimation and Frequency of Cemp Stars". The Astronomical Journal. 146 (5): 132. arXiv:1310.3276. Bibcode:2013AJ....146..132L. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/146/5/132. ISSN 0004-6256. S2CID 118468060.
  25. ^ Hillman, Dan (2010-12-07), The Joy of Stats (Documentary), Wingspan Productions, retrieved 2022-04-10
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