Amanda Bauer

{{Short description|American astronomer and science communicator (born 1979)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox scientist |name = Amanda Bauer |image = Amanda Bauer portrait small.jpg |image_size = |alt = |caption = |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|5|26}}<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bauer|first1=Amanda|title=happy pi day!|url=http://amandabauer.blogspot.com.au/2007/03/happy-pi-day.html|website=Astropixie|access-date=16 February 2015|date=2007-03-15}}</ref>  |birth_place = Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |death_cause = |resting_place = |resting_place_coordinates =  |other_names = |field = Astronomy |workplaces = {{unbulleted list |Australian Astronomical Observatory|Large Synoptic Survey Telescope}} |alma_mater = {{unbulleted list|University of Cincinnati | University of Texas at Austin}} |thesis_title =  |thesis_url =  |thesis_year =  |doctoral_advisor = |academic_advisors = |doctoral_students = |notable_students = |known_for = Head of Education and Public Outreach |awards = ARC Super Science Fellowship |author_abbrev_bot = |author_abbrev_zoo = |spouse = |partner =  |children = |signature =  |signature_alt = |website =  |footnotes = }}

'''Amanda Elaine Bauer''' (born 26 May 1979) is an American professional astronomer and science communicator. She is the Deputy Director and Head of Science and Education at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. She was previously based in Tucson, Arizona working as the Deputy Director of Vera C. Rubin Observatory Operations, which began observing in 2025 to capture the Legacy Survey of Space ad Time (LSST). Prior to that, she was the Head of Education and Public Outreach for Rubin Observatory.

==Early life and education==

Bauer grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. She had an interest in astronomy since she was young, and enjoyed the math club in high school, but at the time she did not consider that these could be a career. In college, at the University of Cincinnati, she initially majored in French, but she changed to Science after trying unsuccessfully to arrange to study abroad. Her college did not have an Astronomy department, so instead she majored in physics.  While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she undertook a student internship with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from 2000 to 2002.<ref name="AstroPodcast" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Early Data Release|url=http://classic.sdss.org/dr7/algorithms/edrpaper.html|website=SDSS.org|access-date=29 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906225729/http://classic.sdss.org/dr7/algorithms/edrpaper.html|archive-date=6 September 2015|date=2002}}</ref> She graduated with a Bachelor of Science with High Honors in Physics from the University of Cincinnati in 2002.<ref name=UTA_bio>{{cite web|title=Bauer |url=http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/research/astronomers/bauer |publisher=The University of Texas McDonald Observatory |access-date=22 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123711/http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/research/astronomers/bauer |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Bauer immediately started her master's degree in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin. This was where she started her involvement with the area that would become the major focus of her research career: galaxy assembly and evolution.<ref name=UTA_bio/> She graduated as a Master of Science in 2004 and began studying for a PhD in Astrophysics, still at the University of Texas at Austin. This included working as a research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany in 2006, and at the Gemini Observatory in Chile in 2007.<ref name="The Conversation Profile" /> She was awarded her PhD in 2008, with her thesis entitled ''Star-Forming Galaxies Growing Up Over the Last Ten Billion Years''.<ref name="AstroPodcast">{{cite web|last1=Reynolds|first1=Allison|title=002 AstroPodcast Amanda Bauer|url=http://www.astropodcast.com/podcasts/002-astropodcast-amanda-bauer/|website=Astro Podcast|access-date=29 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412102455/http://www.astropodcast.com/podcasts/002-astropodcast-amanda-bauer/|archive-date=12 April 2016|date=21 March 2012}}</ref>

==Research career== After completing her PhD, Bauer accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Nottingham in England (September 2008 - November 2010).<ref name="The Conversation Profile">{{cite web|title=Amanda Bauer - Profile|url=https://theconversation.com/profiles/amanda-bauer-3212|website=The Conversation|date=19 July 2011 |publisher=The Conversation Media Group|access-date=24 February 2015}}</ref>  When that finished, she moved to Australia to take up a three-year ARC "Super Science Fellowship", working at the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO).

thumb|right|upright=1.33|A galaxy's position within a cluster such as this (Abell 2261) affects how it can form new stars. At the conclusion of that fellowship in November 2013, Bauer took up the role of Research Astronomer at the AAO.<ref name=AAO-staff>{{cite web|title=Amanda Bauer Research Astronomer|url=http://www.aao.gov.au/science/research/staff/Amanda%20Bauer|publisher=Australian Astronomical Observatory|access-date=20 February 2015|archive-date=1 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201221202/http://www.aao.gov.au/science/research/staff/Amanda%20Bauer|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her area of research investigates the processes by which galaxies form, and particularly why they eventually stop creating new stars.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Robyn|title=The Science Show: Telescope celebrates 40 years|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/telescope-celebrates-40-years/5821556|publisher=ABC Radio National|access-date=27 February 2015|date=18 October 2014}}</ref> In order to explore how galaxies build into the diverse structures we see today, she analyzed systematic surveys of hundreds of thousands of galaxies, looking for clues that indicate what physical processes regulate the rates at which new stars are formed in galaxies which are subjected to different conditions.<ref name=AAO-abauer/>

In 2012, she published her findings from a study into the evolution of stars within galaxies which themselves are members of galaxy clusters, using the Gemini North Observatory in Hawaii. The research found that a galaxy's position within the galactic cluster affected stellar evolution within that galaxy: the closer a galaxy is to the center of a cluster, the sooner it stops forming new stars. The interpretation of this is that near the centre of the cluster, the large number of close galactic neighbours influence each other through gravitation to produce a sea of hot gas, and that hot gas seems to be the limiting factor that constrains new star formation.<ref name="Fresh Science">{{cite web|title=Galaxies in the thick of it grow up fast|url=http://freshscience.org.au/2012/galaxies|website=Fresh Science|access-date=20 February 2015|date=23 October 2012}}</ref> Mergers of galaxies also play a part: her forecasts of how our own Milky Way galaxy will merge with the Andromeda Galaxy and the two smaller Magellanic Cloud galaxies in several billion years have prompted further new studies into how that will affect the rates of star formation locally.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Frampton|first1=Andrew|title=Billions of years until galaxy collides|access-date=28 February 2015|work=The Australian|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/billions-of-years-until-galaxy-collides/story-fn3dxiwe-1226501412797|agency=AAP Australian National News Wire|date=23 October 2012|quote=Accession Number: 74C0456668345}}</ref>

{{as of|2015|2}}, Cornell University's arXiv service lists 61 publications of her astronomical research in peer-reviewed journals, mostly in the categories of either Astrophysics of Galaxies or Cosmology.<ref name=arXiv>{{cite web|title=Search Results for au:Bauer_A|url=https://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Bauer_A/0/1/0/all/0/1|website=arXiv.org|publisher=Cornell University Library|access-date=25 February 2015}}</ref> She has presented her findings at international professional conferences and institutions, including the Annual Science Meeting of the Astronomical Society of Australia in July 2011, Adler Planetarium, Chicago, in September 2013 and the AusGO (Australian Gemini Office) Observational Techniques Workshop in April 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 2014 AusGO/AAO Observational Techniques Workshop|url=http://www.aao.gov.au/science/conferences/OTW2014|publisher=Australian Government Department of Industry and Science|access-date=20 March 2015|location=Program tab|date=2014-05-14}}</ref>

==Public outreach== thumb|right|upright=1.33|Amanda Bauer giving a public presentation in November 2014. [[File:Bauer Watson duet 2014-10-03.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.33|Amanda Bauer (on ukulele) and Fred Watson (on guitar) provide a musical interlude at the 2014 celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Anglo-Australian Telescope.]] Bauer started her involvement with organized public outreach in a project called ''Sixty Symbols of Physics and Astronomy'' during her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Nottingham in England. She contributed regular interviews to this series from 2009 to 2011.<ref name="The Conversation Profile"/><ref name=SixtySymbolsBio>{{cite web|title=Amanda Bauer - Sixty Symbols|url=http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2707708|access-date=24 February 2015|date=December 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091850/http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2707708|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> After leaving Nottingham, she continued her outreach activities informally with her "Astropixie" blog.

In 2013, while she was working at the AAO, in addition to her research role, Bauer became the first official Outreach Officer for the AAO. The objective of this role is "to develop strategies to capture and communicate the excitement of new astronomical discoveries and innovative engineering feats occurring within the AAO and the astronomical community."<ref name=AAO-abauer>{{cite web|last1=Bauer|first1=Amanda|title=Amanda Bauer|url=http://www.aao.gov.au/people/abauer|publisher=Australian Astronomical Observatory|access-date=20 February 2015|date=2014-07-30|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143357/http://www.aao.gov.au/people/abauer|url-status=dead}}</ref> She manages the AAO's online presence, especially social media using its Facebook, Twitter (@AAOastro) and YouTube channel, and the AAO's growing collection of online videos for the public.<ref>{{cite web|title=AAO Videos|url=http://www.aao.gov.au/public/video|access-date=26 February 2015}}</ref> She also works with more conventional media by acting as the AAO's media contact and issuing press releases, edits the ''AAO Observer'' newsletter,<ref>{{cite web|title=Submitting content to AAO Observer |url=http://www.aao.gov.au/about-us/observer/submission |publisher=Australian Astronomical Observatory |access-date=20 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309215834/http://aao.gov.au/about-us/observer/submission |archive-date=9 March 2015 |url-status=live |date=2013-09-05 }}</ref> gives public talks, writes science articles for several publications, visits schools, talks to members of parliament,<ref name=SmP>{{cite web|title=Science meets Parliament (SmP) |url=http://asa.astronomy.org.au/smp.html |publisher=Astronomical Society of Australia |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228023705/http://asa.astronomy.org.au/smp.html |archive-date=28 February 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> and curated a public photographic exhibition.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dunkley|first1=Andrew|title=AAO fires up new exhibition|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/11/28/3900690.htm|publisher=ABC Western Plains|access-date=27 February 2015|date=28 November 2013}}</ref> The importance of her outreach role became particularly apparent in January 2013 when bush-fires threatened the astronomical installations on top of Siding Spring mountain: Bauer was the media contact ensuring that the latest information was available.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hayward|first1=Andrea|last2=Farrow|first2=Lauren|title=Observatory fire threat a 'deja vu' moment|url=http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/observatory-fire-threat-a-deja-vu-moment/story-e6frfku9-1226553829086|access-date=28 February 2015|agency=AAP Australian National News Wire|date=14 January 2013}}</ref>

Since March 2012, Bauer has been a regular expert co-host on the ''Titanium Physicists'' Podcast. In March 2017, she started a new podcast, ''Cosmic Vertigo'' with co-host Dr Alan Duffy.

Bauer is a regular guest on ABC Radio and ABC News television, a guest writer for Australian Sky & Telescope magazine, guest writer and astronomy contact for Cosmos magazine, featured astrophysicist in video series ''Deep Sky Videos''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deepskyvideos.com/pages/contributors.html|title=Deep Sky Videos - Videos about the Depths of Space|work=deepskyvideos.com}}</ref> and ''Sixty Symbols of Physics and Astronomy''.<ref name=SixtySymbolsBio/> Her live presentations have been in front of the public, astronomical organizations and school groups, with audiences up to 350 people at the Australian Skeptics National Convention in November 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Speaker Profile: Dr Amanda Bauer |url=http://convention.skeptics.com.au/dr-amanda-bauer/ |publisher=Australian Skeptics |access-date=2 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303092058/http://convention.skeptics.com.au/dr-amanda-bauer/ |archive-date=3 March 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> She teaches the "Scientists in Schools" program for 8- to 12-year-old students, and "CAASTRO in the Classroom" astronomy lessons to about 100 students.<ref>{{cite web|title=CAASTRO in the Classroom (CITC) Schedule 2012|url=http://www.caastro.org/education-and-outreach/school-engagement/caastro-in-the-classroom/schedule|website=caastro.org|publisher=Australian Research Council|access-date=22 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923195634/http://www.caastro.org/education-and-outreach/school-engagement/caastro-in-the-classroom/schedule|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> In her spare time, she also maintains her own "astropixie" blog and Twitter feed about astronomy.<ref name=UTA_bio/>

She also takes an active role in helping other astronomers to develop their own skills in science communication, by conducting workshops and giving talks to professionals, including the ASA Harley Wood School in July 2014, the AAO Colloquium on Outreach in March 2014, and "dotAstronomy: Networked Astronomy and New Media" in Boston in September 2013.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bauer|first1=Amanda|title=Communication Strategies: How do you Organize a Party in Space?|url=http://dotastronomy.com/events/five/communication-strategies-amanda-bauer/|publisher=.Astronomy (pronounced ‘dot-astronomy’)|access-date=20 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325111242/http://dotastronomy.com/events/five/communication-strategies-amanda-bauer/|archive-date=2015-03-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> She is the Director of "dotAstronomy 7" which will be held in Sydney in November 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=dotAstronomy 7|url=http://dotastronomy.com/events/seven/|publisher=.Astronomy (pronounced ‘dot-astronomy’)|access-date=20 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402140230/http://dotastronomy.com/events/seven/|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014, the Astronomical Society of Australia acknowledged her contributions to public outreach by electing her to the Steering Committee of its Education and Public Outreach Chapter (EPOC) for a two-year term.<ref name=EPOC>{{cite web|title=EPOC Committee |url=https://asaepoc.wordpress.com/roles/ |publisher=Astronomical Society of Australia's Education and Public Outreach Chapter |access-date=20 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093022/https://asaepoc.wordpress.com/roles/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In early 2017, Bauer moved back the US and joined the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST, later renamed as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory) as Head of Education and Public Outreach.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bauer|first1=Amanda|title=In the desert working on LSST|url=http://amandabauer.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/in-desert-working-on-lsst.html|website=Bauer's astropixie blog|access-date=6 August 2017|date=27 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Large Synoptic Survey Telescope |title=Amanda Bauer - Head of Education and Public Outreach |url=https://www.lsst.org/about/team/amanda-bauer |website=www.lsst.org |date=9 March 2017 |access-date=6 August 2017 |language=en}}</ref> In December 2019, she also took on the role of Interim Deputy Director for LSST Operations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blum |first1=Robert |title=Dr. Amanda Bauer Appointed Interim Deputy Director for LSST Operations |url=https://www.lsst.org/news/dr-amanda-bauer-appointed-interim-deputy-director-lsst-operations |website=Rubin Observatory |publisher=Large Synoptic Survey Telescope |access-date=25 January 2022 |language=en |date=11 December 2019}}</ref>

In May 2022, Yerkes Observatory announced that she had been appointed as the new Deputy Director and Head of Science and Education, starting in July. In this newly created role, she and leads the science, research, telescope operations, and education programs of the Observatory.<ref>{{cite news |title=Yerkes Observatory Appoints Deputy Director + Head of Science and Education |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yerkes-observatory-appoints-deputy-director--head-of-science-and-education-301549442.html |access-date=22 September 2022 |work=Cision |agency=www.prnewswire.com |publisher=Yerkes Observatory |date=May 17, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life== Bauer enjoys live acoustic music, camping, hiking, and swimming. She says that "the best of all worlds is when she goes camping at music festivals, enjoying the companionship, the great music, the campfires, and sleeping under the stars."<ref name=UTA_bio/><ref>{{cite web|title=Dr Amanda Bauer|url=http://convention.skeptics.com.au/dr-amanda-bauer/|website=Australian Skeptics National Convention 2014|publisher=Australian Skeptics, Inc.|access-date=22 February 2015|archive-date=3 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303092058/http://convention.skeptics.com.au/dr-amanda-bauer/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In February 2016, she gave birth to a daughter, Ida Luna.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bauer|first1=Amanda|title=astropixie: Introducing Ida Luna |url=http://amandabauer.blogspot.com.au/2016/04/introducing-ida-luna.html |website=amandabauer.blogspot.com.au |access-date=30 May 2016 |date=2016-04-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519073708/https://amandabauer.blogspot.com/2016/04/introducing-ida-luna.html |archive-date=19 May 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Selected publications== * Co-chaired the Australian Astronomy Decadal Plan Working Group 3.2 on Education, Outreach, and Careers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Working Group 3.2 Education, Outreach and Careers|url=https://australianastronomydecadalplan.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/wg3-2-report.pdf|publisher=The National Committee for Astronomy of the Australian Academy of Science|access-date=20 February 2015|date=September 2014}}</ref>   * {{cite journal|author1=Bauer, A. E.|author2=Hopkins, A. M. |display-authors=etal|title=Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Linking Star Formation Histories and Stellar Mass Growth|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=2013|volume=434|issue=1 |page=209|arxiv = 1306.2424 |bibcode = 2013MNRAS.434..209B |doi = 10.1093/mnras/stt1011 |doi-access=free |s2cid=10680203 }} * {{cite journal|author1=Bauer, A. E.|author2=Grützbauch, R.|author-link2=Ruth Grützbauch|author3=Jorgensen, I.|author4=Varela, J.|author5=Bergmann, M.|title=Star Formation in the XMMU J2235.3-2557 Galaxy Cluster at z = 1:39|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=2011 |volume=411 |issue=3|page=2009B |arxiv=1010.1238|bibcode = 2011MNRAS.411.2009B |doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17828.x |doi-access=free |s2cid=119268712}} * {{cite journal|author1=Bauer, A. E.|author2=Conselice, C. J.|author3=Pérez-González, P.G.|author4=Grützbauch, R.|author5=Bluck, A.F.L.|author6=Buitrago, F.|author7=Mortlock, A.|title=Star Formation in a Stellar Mass Selected Sample of Galaxies to z = 3 from the GOODS NICMOS Survey|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=2011|volume=417|issue=289|pages=289|arxiv=1106.2656|bibcode = 2011MNRAS.417..289B |doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19240.x |doi-access=free |s2cid=53357504|url=http://eprints.ucm.es/38531/1/perezgonzalez40libre.pdf}} * {{cite journal|author1=Bauer, A. E.|author2=Drory, N.|author3=Hill, G.J.|author4=Feulner, G.|title=Specific Star Formation Rates to Redshift 1.5|journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=2005|volume=621|issue=1 |pages=L89–92|arxiv=1106.2656|bibcode = 2011MNRAS.417..289B |doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19240.x |doi-access=free |s2cid=53357504}}

==Awards and recognition== * 2016: Featured STEM Career Profile in the inaugural issue of Science News.<ref>{{cite journal|title=STEM Career Profile: Dr Amanda Bauer - Research Astronomer|journal=Science News|volume=Department of Industry, Innovation and Science}}</ref> * 2015: Winner (one of five) in the ''Top 5 under 40'' competition conducted by the UNSW and ABC Radio National "to discover Australia’s new generation of passionate science communicators"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/top-5-under-40-winners-announced/6282910 |title=Top 5 Under 40 winners announced |work=ABC Radio National|date=2015-03-07 }}</ref> * 2015: Australian Institute of Physics NSW Community Outreach to Physics Award * 2014 - 2016: Steering Committee member of the Astronomical Society of Australia's Education and Public Outreach Chapter (EPOC)<ref name=EPOC/> * 2010-2013: ARC Super Science Fellowship  at the AAO<ref>{{cite web |title=The Inaugural Symposium of Super Science Fellows in Astronomy and Space Science |url=http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/James.Allison/sssymposium.pdf |publisher=Australian Research Council |access-date=25 February 2015 |date=25 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402113144/http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/James.Allison/sssymposium.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> * 2013: Nominated for Dept of Industry Excellence in Innovation Award * Committee member of the Astronomical Society of Australia<ref name=asamembers>{{cite web|title=ASA Members|url=http://physics.usyd.edu.au/~asamail/asa_membership/members_html.php|website=Astronomical Society of Australia|publisher=Astronomical Society of Australia|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402184427/http://physics.usyd.edu.au/~asamail/asa_membership/members_html.php|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> * 2012: National finalist in the Fresh Science Media competition<ref name="Fresh Science"/> * 2012: Represented the Astronomical Society of Australia at "Science Meets Parliament"<ref name=SmP/> * 2009: Strategic Grant Award from the British Science Association * 2006, 2007: NASA/Texas Space Grant Consortium Graduate Fellowship

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.aao.gov.au/ Australian Astronomical Observatory] * [http://www.gama-survey.org/ GAMA Survey] * [http://sami-survey.org/ SAMI Galaxy Survey] * [http://www.sixtysymbols.com Sixty Symbols of Physics and Astronomy] * [http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/cosmicvertigo/ Cosmic Vertigo podcast] * [http://titaniumphysicists.brachiolopemedia.com/about-the-physicists/ Titanium Physicists Podcast] * [http://amandabauer.blogspot.com.au/ Amanda Bauer's blog, astropixie]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Amanda Elaine}} Category:1979 births Category:American women astronomers Category:21st-century Australian astronomers Category:University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences alumni Category:University of Cincinnati alumni Category:Scientists from Cincinnati Category:Living people Category:21st-century American astronomers Category:21st-century American women scientists Category:Australian women scientists