Anneila Sargent

{{Short description|Scottish-American astronomer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}} {{Use British English|date=September 2017}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = Professor | name = Anneila Sargent | honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRSE}} | image = Anneila Sargent at 2017 National Science Board (cropped).jpg | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Sargent at 2017 National Science Board | birth_name = Anneila Isabel Cassells | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1942}} | birth_place = Kirkcaldy, Scotland | death_date =  | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | other_names = | pronounce = | residence = | citizenship = | fields = Star formation, astronomy | workplaces = California Institute of Technology | patrons = | education = | alma_mater = University of Edinburgh<br/>University of California, Berkeley<br/>California Institute of Technology | thesis_title =  | thesis_url =  | thesis_year =  | doctoral_advisor =  | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = | influences = | influenced = | awards = NASA Public Service Medal<br/>Caltech Woman of the Year Award<br/>University of Edinburgh Alumnus of the Year (2002) | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = | spouse = Wallace L. W. Sargent | partner =  | children = 2 daughters | signature =  | signature_alt = | website =  | footnotes = }}

'''Anneila Isabel Sargent''' (née '''Cassells'''; born 1942) is a Scottish–American astronomer who specializes in star formation.

==Biography== Sargent was brought up in Burntisland, Fife, and schooled at Burntisland Primary School and Kirkcaldy High School.<ref name="Sommerville">Sommerville, Iain (2000) "[http://www.burntisland.net/sargent.htm From Burntisland to the Outer Limits: the Journey of Anneila Cassells]", burntisland.net, October 2000, retrieved 2010-08-28</ref> She completed a BSc Honors degree in physics at the University of Edinburgh in 1963, and then immigrated to the United States, first studying at the University of California, Berkeley, and then from 1967 at The California Institute of Technology, where she was awarded her Ph.D. in 1977.<ref name="Sommerville" /><ref name="NASA">"[http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/workshops/1996/astrobiology/participants/sargent_bio.html Anneila Sargent] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531193441/http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/workshops/1996/astrobiology/participants/sargent_bio.html |date=May 31, 2010 }}", NASA, retrieved 2010-08-28</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Anneila I. Sargent |url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/62988.html |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=www.nasonline.org}}</ref> She is currently the Ira S. Bowen Professor of Astronomy, emeritus at Caltech and has served as director of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory and Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy.<ref name="Sommerville" /><ref name="UoE">"[http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/edinburgh-global/profiles/alumni/anneila-sargent Alumni: Anneila Sargent] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926022852/http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/edinburgh-global/profiles/alumni/anneila-sargent |date=September 26, 2011 }}", University of Edinburgh, retrieved 2010-08-28</ref> She served as president of the American Astronomical Society from 2000 to 2002, continuing to serve on the council since.<ref name="Sommerville" /><ref name="NASA" /> She led Caltech's Michelson Science Center from 2000 to 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Science Board |url=https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/members/past_members/sargent.jsp |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=National Science Board}}</ref> Sargent was the Vice President for Student Affairs at Caltech from 1 December 2007 until 2016.

Sargent was nominated in 2011 by President Obama to serve a six-year term on the National Science Board.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://m.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/07/29/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323094003/http://m.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/07/29/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 March 2012|title=President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts|date=29 July 2011|website=White House}}</ref> She has served on committees such as the NRC Committee for Astronomy and Astrophysics, the NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee, and in 1995/6 chaired the Visiting Committee to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.<ref name="NASA" /> She has been Chair of NASA's Space Science Advisory Committee since 1994.<ref name="NASA" /> She is also Director of the Combined Array for Research in Millimeterwave Astronomy (CARMA).<ref name="RAS">"[http://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/73-news2003/648-pn03-41 DISCOVERING HOW PLANETARY SYSTEMS FORM]", Royal Astronomical Society, 16 April 2010, retrieved 2010-08-28</ref>

== Research == Anneila focuses mainly on researching the early stages of pro stellar evolution as stars develop in the universe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anneila I. Sargent – NAS |url=https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/anneila-i-sargent-jrxjzn/ |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=www.nasonline.org/ |language=en-US}}</ref> One of her research methods is to use molecular line and dust observations at ,illimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths to study the structure of the disks that circle around low-mass stars in their developing stages.<ref name=":0" />

==Honors and awards== Sargent won both the NASA Public Service Medal and the Caltech Woman of the Year Award in 1998.<ref name="Sommerville" /> Asteroid 18244 Anneila is named in her honor. The University of Edinburgh named her Alumnus of the Year in 2002 and conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Science on her in 2008.<ref name="Sommerville" /><ref name="UoE2">"[http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/people/alumnus/sargent Alumnus of the Year: Professor Anneila Sargent - 2002] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309210150/http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/people/alumnus/sargent |date=March 9, 2012 }}", University of Edinburgh, retrieved 2010-08-28</ref> Sargent was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2017.<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.rse.org.uk/rse-welcomes-60-new-fellows/|title=RSE Welcomes 60 New Fellows|date=15 February 2017 |publisher=Royal Society of Edinburgh |access-date=28 March 2017}}</ref> She was awarded the 2019 Karl G. Jansky Lectureship by Associated Universities, Inc. and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2019 Jansky Lecturer: Dr. Anneila Sargent |url=https://science.nrao.edu/science/jansky-lecture/speakers/2019-jansky-lecturer-dr-anneila-sargent |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=NRAO Science Site |language=en-us}}</ref> The Lectureship is for contributions to radio astronomy, and Sargent was recognized for her "pioneering" work on young stars and the disks from which planets form.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2019 Jansky Lecturer: Dr. Anneila Sargent |url=https://science.nrao.edu/science/jansky-lecture/speakers/2019-jansky-lecturer-dr-anneila-sargent |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=NRAO Science Site |language=en-us}}</ref> She was also honored for her leadership in the astronomical community and her service as a role model for female scientists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2019 Jansky Lecturer: Dr. Anneila Sargent |url=https://science.nrao.edu/science/jansky-lecture/speakers/2019-jansky-lecturer-dr-anneila-sargent |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=NRAO Science Site |language=en-us}}</ref>

She was elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/aas-fellows|title=AAS Fellows|publisher=AAS|accessdate=30 September 2020}}</ref> She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2021.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2021-nas-election.html|title=2021 NAS Election|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=2021-04-26}}</ref>

In the June 2023 Graduation Ceremonies at University of St Andrews, Sargent was awarded Doctor of Science (DSc),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorary graduates |url=https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/graduation/honorands/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=www.st-andrews.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> in recognition of her major contribution to astronomy.

In 2023, Sargent was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 AAAS Fellows {{!}} American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |url=https://www.aaas.org/fellows/2023-fellows |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=www.aaas.org |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life== Her husband was fellow astronomer Wallace L. W. Sargent.<ref name="Murray">Murray, Geraldine (1999) "'Bossy' Scot in Star Job", ''Sunday Herald'', 14 March 1999, retrieved 2010-08-28</ref> She grew up in a home where her father worked in shipyards and her mother had two jobs as a homemaker and was a dressmaker with a little shop.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zierler |first1=David |title=Anneila Sargent |url=https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/45368 |website=API |publisher=API |access-date=10 March 2025}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{INSPIRE-HEP author}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sargent, Anneila}} Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:People from Burntisland Category:People educated at Kirkcaldy High School Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:California Institute of Technology faculty Category:Scottish emigrants to the United States Category:American women astronomers Category:Scottish astronomers Category:21st-century Scottish women scientists Category:21st-century Scottish scientists Category:Fellows of the American Astronomical Society Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science