Beatrice Tinsley: Difference between revisions
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Other biographies: |
Other biographies: |
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* [http://www.carleton.edu/departments/PHAS/astro/pages/michele/tinsley.html Beatrice Hill Tinsley biography], Michele Nichols, 10 June 1998. |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120207203823/http://www.carleton.edu/departments/PHAS/astro/pages/michele/tinsley.html Beatrice Hill Tinsley biography], Michele Nichols, 10 June 1998. |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080502194347/http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/tinsley.html New Zealand Heroes biography] |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080502194347/http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/tinsley.html New Zealand Heroes biography] |
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* [http://astro.berkeley.edu/~gmarcy/women/tinsley.html Astronomical Society of the Pacific biography] |
* [http://astro.berkeley.edu/~gmarcy/women/tinsley.html Astronomical Society of the Pacific biography] |
Revision as of 09:45, 5 September 2017
Beatrice Tinsley | |
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Born | Chester, England | 27 January 1941
Died | 23 March 1981 New Haven, Connecticut, United States | (aged 40)
Alma mater | University of Canterbury; University of Texas at Austin |
Known for | Evolution of galaxies |
Awards | AAS Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy (1974) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomy |
Institutions | Yale University |
Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsley (27 January 1941 – 23 March 1981) was a British-born New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist whose research made fundamental contributions to the astronomical understanding of how galaxies evolve, grow and die.
Life
Tinsley was born in Chester, England in 1941, the middle of three sisters, and emigrated to New Zealand with her family following World War II. The family lived first in Christchurch, and then for a longer time in New Plymouth. Her father Edward Hill was a clergyman and Moral Re-Armer, was Mayor of New Plymouth (1953-56). While studying in Christchurch, she married physicist and university classmate Brian Tinsley, not knowing that this would prevent her from working at the University while he was employed there. They moved in 1963 to the United States, to Dallas, Texas, but she was similarly restricted there. In 1974, after years of attempting to balance home, family and two commuting careers, she left her husband and two adopted children to take a position as assistant professor at Yale. She worked there until her death from cancer in the Yale Infirmary in 1981. Her ashes are buried in the campus cemetery.
Education
Tinsley attended New Plymouth Girls' High School, then studied at the University of Canterbury where she completed a B.Sc. and then a Master of Science degree in 1961, with First Class Honours in Physics. Her Doctor of Philosophy PhD was awarded by the University of Texas in Austin in 1966, with the thesis Evolution of Galaxies and its Significance for Cosmology.
Professional activity
Tinsley completed pioneering theoretical studies of how populations of stars age and affect the observable qualities of galaxies. She also collaborated on basic research into models investigating whether the universe is closed or open. Her galaxy models led to the first approximation of what protogalaxies should look like.
In 1974 she received the American Astronomical Society's Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy, awarded for "outstanding research and promise for future research by a postdoctoral woman researcher", in recognition of her work on galaxy evolution.[1]
In 1977, Tinsley, with Richard Larson of Yale, organised a conference on 'The Evolution of Galaxies and Stellar Populations'.
Shortly after, in 1978, she became the first female professor of astronomy at Yale University.[2] Her last scientific paper, submitted to the Astrophysical Journal ten days before her death, was published posthumously that November, without revision.[3][note 1]
Tributes
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Mount_Tinsley_N.Z..jpg/250px-Mount_Tinsley_N.Z..jpg)
In 1986 the American Astronomical Society established the Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize, which recognises "an outstanding research contribution to astronomy or astrophysics, of an exceptionally creative or innovative character."[4] It is the only major award created by an American scientific society which honours a woman scientist. The award is not made with restriction on a candidate's citizenship or country of residence.[4]
The main-belt asteroid 3087 Beatrice Tinsley, discovered in 1981 at Mt John University Observatory near Tekapo, is also named after her.[5]
The University of Texas at Austin established from endowment in 1989 the Beatrice M. Tinsley Centennial Visiting Professorship, where a distinguished mid career or senior professor is invited to visit for up to a semester.[6] In 2007 they added the Tinsley Scholars, awards for younger researchers to briefly visit Austin.[6]
In 2005, the Circa Theatre in Wellington produced a play called Bright Star, about the life of Beatrice Tinsley.[7] The Wellington Astronomical Society held telescope viewing sessions outside the theatre, on the wharf next to the Te Papa Museum.
In December 2010 the New Zealand Geographic Board officially named a mountain in Fiordland's Kepler Mountains (which are named for the astronomer Johannes Kepler) as Mt Tinsley.[8][9]
The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand established the Beatrice Hill Tinsley Lectures[10] in 2012.
Beatrice Tinsley Crescent in Rosedale, on Auckland's North Shore, is named for her. It runs off William Pickering Drive and is joined by Ride Way.
On 27 January 2016, the 75th anniversary of her birth, Google published a Doodle to honour her work.[11]
Selected publications
- "An accelerating universe" 1975, Nature 257, 454 – 457 (9 October 1975); doi:10.1038/257454a0
- Correlation of the Dark Mass in Galaxies with Hubble type, 1981, Royal Astronomical Society, Monthly Notices, vol. 194, p. 63–75
- Relations between Nucleosynthesis Rates and the Metal Abundance, 1980, Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 89, no. 1–2, p. 246–248
- Stellar Lifetimes and Abundance Ratios in Chemical Evolution, 1979, Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 229, p. 1046–1056
- Colors as Indicators of the Presence of Spiral and Elliptical Components in N Galaxies, 1977, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. 89, p. 245–250
- Surface Brightness Parameters as Tests of Galactic Evolution, 1976, Astrophysical Journal, vol. 209, p. L7–L9
- The Color-Redshift Relation for Giant Elliptical Galaxies, 1971, Astrophysics and Space Science, Vol. 12, p. 394
Notes
- ^ The editor's note: "Deceased on 1981 March 23, thus ending prematurely a distinguished career. The text of this last paper was not revised, although Michele Kaufman kindly added some clarifying definitions and comments."
References
- ^ "AAS Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy". Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "The Life of Beatrice Tinsley". Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- ^ Tinsley, B. M. (1981). "Chemical evolution in the solar neighborhood. IV – Some revised general equations and a specific model". Astrophysical Journal. 250: 758–768. Bibcode:1981ApJ...250..758T. doi:10.1086/159425.
- ^ a b "Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize". American Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Citation for (3087)". Cambridge, MA: Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 November 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "External Review 2009" (PDF). University of Texas at Austin Department of Astronomy/McDonald Observatory. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Circa Theatre: Bright Star". Archived from the original on 7 February 2006. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
- ^ "Mount Pickering and Mount Tinsley". Archived from the original on 15 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ Mackay, Scot (20 January 2011). "Historian's mountainous goal reached". The Southland Times. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
- ^ "The Beatrice Hill Tinsley Lectures". Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ Beatrice Tinsley’s 75th Birthday
Further reading
- Catley, Christine Cole (2006). Bright Star: Beatrice Hill Tinsley, Astronomer. Auckland: Cape Catley. ISBN 1-877340-01-4..
- Catley, Christine Cole (1970–1980). "Tinsley, Beatrice Muriel Hill". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 25. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 57–61. ISBN 978-0-684-10114-9.
- Dodd, Richard J. (1984). "Appreciation: Beatrice M. Tinsley, 1941–1981". Southern Stars. 30: 429–431. Bibcode:1984SouSt..30..429D..
- Faber, Sandra (1981). "Obituary: Beatrice Tinsley". Physics Today. 34 (9): 110. Bibcode:1981PhT....34i.110F. doi:10.1063/1.2914734..
- Hill, Edward (1986). My Daughter Beatrice, A Personal Memoir of Dr. Beatrice Tinsley, Astronomer. New-York: American Physical Society. ISBN 0-88318-493-1..
- Guarnieri, Maria D.; Pancaldi Stagni, Maria G. (1991). "Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsley: una vita per la scienza". Orione. 11: 28–33. Bibcode:1991Ori....11...28G..
- Larson, Richard B.; Stryker, Linda L. (1982). "Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsley". Quarterly of the Royal Astronomical Society. 23. Bibcode:1982QJRAS..23..162L..
- Whineray, Scott, ed. (1985). Beatrice (Hill) Tinsley, 1941–1981, Astronomer: A Tribute in Memory of an Outstanding Physicist. Palmerston North, N.Z.: Massey University, New Zealand, Institute of Physics Education Committee..
External links
Other biographies:
- Beatrice Hill Tinsley biography, Michele Nichols, 10 June 1998.
- New Zealand Heroes biography
- Astronomical Society of the Pacific biography
- Texas History biography
Other material:
- NBR review of Circa Theater's production of the play Bright Star at the Wayback Machine (archived 16 December 2005)
- Oral History interview transcript with Beatrice Tinsley 14 June 1977, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives
- Bibliography from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Radio New Zealand The Stars are Comforting: The letters of Beatrice Hill Tinsley (1941–1981). Also includes an image gallery and audio of several related interviews
- New Zealand Geographic Board Report on Mount Tinsley[permanent dead link]
- Gray, Meghan. "Beatrice Tinsley". Deep Sky Videos. Brady Haran.
- The Beginning and End of the Universe, Season 1, Episode 2, The End. Jim Al-Khalili discusses how her PhD dissertation on the evolution of galaxies contributed to ongoing attempts to understand the expansion rate of the universe.
- Use dmy dates from August 2011
- 1941 births
- 1981 deaths
- Cosmologists
- New Zealand astronomers
- American people of New Zealand descent
- People from Chester
- Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy
- University of Canterbury alumni
- Women astronomers
- English emigrants to New Zealand
- New Zealand women scientists
- 20th-century women scientists