Astronomy professor honored with prestigious NSF CAREER award

Assistant Professor Angela Speck, Physics and Astronomy, has won the prestigious CAREER AWARD in the Astronomy and Astrophysics division of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award amount is approximately $500,000 over a period of 5 years.

Nationally a couple of hundred CAREER awards are given each year in all branches of Science and Engineering. There are only three to four awards given in the Astronomy Division, the category to which Dr. Speck applied.

Among the four MU campuses, there have been only 24 CAREER awards since the program's inception in 1994: 10 in Columbia, 3 at UMSL, 2 at UMKC, and 9 at UMR. Dr. Speck has joined the elite group of MU's most successful untenured faculty.

"The CAREER award emphasizes an integrated approach to tesearch and teaching," said Physics and Astronomy department chair H.R. Chandrasekhar. "At the time of her nomination, it was clear in my mind that Angela met that criterion splendidly. It is hard to tell where research stops and teaching begins in her dealings with students — graduate and undergraduate alike. I am not surprised that her application stood out in this highly tough competition [that has] a funding rate of 2-4%."

Dr. Speck will study the precise nature of dust grains around low- and intermediate-mass stars (LIMS) because (1) this is where the dust originates before being expelled into the interstellar medium (ISM) and participating in many other astrophysical processes, and thus knowing its initial states will allow for a more accurate prediction of its fate in and effect on the ISM and beyond and (2) the environment around most of these LIMS is relatively benign and thus has simplified chemistry, which facilitates the understanding of the processes in play. Dr. Speck will use a range of techniques including spectroscopy, imaging and modeling, incorporating new laboratory data and taking into account theoretical models and meteoritic studies to provide knowledge of the nature of dust forming around LIMS. This study will also assess how dust formation changes with stellar evolution. In this way, the effect of chemistry and density on dust formation can be determined, allowing testing and refinement of existing models for dust formation and evolution and which can be applied to many astrophysical environments.

One of the major problems in investigating circumstellar dust is that it incorporates so many apparently disparate aspects of the physical sciences (physics, astronomy, geology, and chemistry). In order to provide a background and framework for such knowledge, Dr. Speck will introduce an upper level/graduate astrophysics course in cosmochemistry that will be open to students from other departments as well. Dr. Speck's research is specifically designed to involve students at all levels (undergraduate, masters and doctoral) and therefore breaks down into modular chunks. In this way the research undertaken also allows for training of students at these various levels. Dr. Speck will continue her effort to recruit and mentor female graduate students as well as students from other underrepresented groups.

This award is funded by the NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.

Links:

Angela Speck
Department of Physics and Astronomy

National Science Foundation