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Meet: Sue Madden
National Research Council Post-doctoral Fellow
NASA Ames Research Center, Mt.View, CA
How I got to where I am today (asked
in 1996)
I have always been curious about how and why things functioned and became interested
in science subjects in high school. After high school I went on to the University
of Michigan to get a Bachelor's degree in Physics, but several times during my
four years there I wrestled with the idea of majoring in physical education.
From there I went into research in nuclear energy, working
at a lab in Idaho. After six years I thought that I couldn't do enough to make
the world safe enough for nuclear reactors and left Idaho to return to school
at the University of Massachusetts. I entered the physics department at first
and after my Master's degree, moved into the astronomy department. I had always
been fascinated with astronomy.
I finished my Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts
in 1990 doing a thesis on the chemistry of the interstellar medium of our galaxy.
This required my conducting observations of exotic molecules at millimeter telescopes.
After my Ph.D, I went to the Max-Planck Institute in Munich,
Germany for four years. There I became involved in building an instrument which
was used on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) to collect far-infrared data
on many varied objects, both in our galaxy and others.
What I do now
I have been a National Research Council (NRC) post-doctoral fellow in the astrophysics
group here at Ames for three months. I will continue work in far-infrared observations,
flying on the KAO. My position here is for several years only. After that, I hope
to find a permanent position, possibly in a reasearch-oriented academic institution.
The most exciting part about astronomy for me is going
on observing runs and collecting data which I can analyze and write up as a journal
article.
Adventure comes with the job!
As I like to travel, I really enjoy my observing trips which take me to Arizona,
New Zealand, Hawaii, Sweden and Germany, for example. This, along with participating
in many astronomical meetings, has allowed my to do things like incorporating
hiking and bicycling and scuba diving adventures on these trips.
Astronomy has been a full and adventurous life!
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