Former Harvard Student is Named L'Oreal Women in Science Fellow
Dr. Sarah Ballard, now at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named one of the 2015 Women in Science Fellows by L'Oreal USA. This award honors female scientists at critical stages of their career with $60,000 fellowships to advance their postdoctoral research. An accomplished exoplanet astronomer, Ballard received her Ph.D. from Harvard Universiity in 2012. Her thesis advisor was Professor David Charbonneau.
Celebrating its twelfth year in the U.S., the L'Oreal For Women in Science program has awarded 60 postdoctoral women scientists nearly $3 million in grants. The announcement was made in conjunction with Ada Lovelace Day - an annual event aimed at raising the profile of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Sarah Ballard's research focuses upon planets orbiting other stars. Her science program is twofold. First, she places individual exoplanets under a microscope and measures the properties of their host stars. She also applies a more wide-field lens to the known ensemble of exoplanets, particularly those orbiting stars smaller than half our Sun's mass.