Galaxies in the Early Universe Bathed in Intergalactic Starlight

Kristen McQuinn is the Mission Head for the Science Operations Center of NASA's next flagship mission: the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope; she is also an Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers University. Prof. McQuinn's research focuses on how small galaxies -- galaxies more than a million times smaller than our own Milky Way galaxy -- form and survive in the often harsh conditions of the universe. She has regularly been awarded time for her research on the Hubble Space Telescope, the new James Webb Space Telescope, as well as other premier space telescopes such as Chandra, Spitzer, and GALEX. Prof. McQuinn has been internationally recognized for her research accomplishments, was the recent recipient of a Cottrell Scholar Award, and has been named a Kavli Frontier of Science Fellow by the US National Academy of Sciences. Prof. McQuinn has degrees in both engineering and astrophysics and, prior to pursuing a PhD in astronomy, she worked in business for nearly a decade.