Catherine Zucker

Catherine Zucker is an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. She received her B.A. in astrophysics from the University of Virginia and M.A. and PhD in Astronomy from Harvard University. Before joining the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in 2023, she spent two years as a Hubble Fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Catherine’s research interests span Galactic structure and dynamics, star formation, the interstellar medium, and young stellar populations. She leverages large photometric, astrometric, and spectroscopic surveys in combination with new data science and data visualization techniques to produce new models of our Milky Way’s interstellar medium, with the underlying goal of generating physically motivated connections between star formation and the broader galactic environment.

PhD in Astronomy, Harvard University; MA in Astronomy, Harvard University; BA in Astrophysics, University of Virginia