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Laura A. Lopez is an associate professor of astronomy at Ohio State University studying the life cycle of stars. She was awarded the Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy in 2016, which is awarded by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) for outstanding research and promise for future research by a postdoctoral woman researcher.

Early life and education

Lopez is originally from Barrington, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, and graduated from Barrington High School in 2000. She received her undergraduate degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004. Lopez earned her PhD in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2011. After completing her PhD she was an Einstein Fellow and Pappalardo Fellow in Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2011–2014). Following that, she was a Hubble Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (2014–2015).

Career

Lopez has contributed to the field of the life cycle of stars. She has used the NuSTAR X-ray satellite to study Tycho's Supernova remnant. Using optical, infrared, radio, and X-ray images, she measured the pressures exerted on the remnant shells from direct stellar radiation, dust-processed radiation, warm ionized gas, and hot X-ray-emitting gas.

Lopez has used data acquired from various observatories to show that Supernova Remnant (SNR) 0104–72.3 in the Small Magellanic Cloud arose from a jet-driven bipolar core-collapse supernova.

Using the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Lopez observed the Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) W49B to understand the thermodynamic properties and explosive origin of the SNR. The observed electron temperature and absorbing column toward W49B suggest that the mean metal abundances are consistent with the predicted yields in models of bipolar/jet-driven core-collapse SNe. W49B is thus likely a bipolar Type Ib/Ic SN, making it the first of its kind to be discovered in the Milky Way.

Lopez is interested in diversity in astronomy and is an advocate of the LGBTIQ astronomical community. Additionally, she has previously served on the AAS Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy (CSMA).

Awards

• 2016 - Annie Jump Cannon Award by American Astronomical Society
• 2019 - Cottrell Scholar Award by Research Corporation for Science Advancement

References

1. "Laura Lopez's personal page".
2. Lopez, Laura A.; Grefenstette, Brian W.; Reynolds, Stephen P.; An, Hongjun; Boggs, Steven E.; Christensen, Finn E.; Craig, William W.; Eriksen, Kristoffer A.; Fryer, Chris L. (2015). "A SPATIALLY RESOLVED STUDY OF THE SYNCHROTRON EMISSION AND TITANIUM IN TYCHO'S SUPERNOVA REMNANT USINGNuSTAR". The Astrophysical Journal. 814 (2): 132. arXiv:1504.07238. Bibcode:2015ApJ...814..132L. doi:10.1088/0004-637x/814/2/132. S2CID 23932358.
3. Lopez, Laura A.; Krumholz, Mark R.; Bolatto, Alberto D.; Prochaska, J. Xavier; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; Daniel Castro (2014-01-01). "The Role of Stellar Feedback in the Dynamics of H II Regions". The Astrophysical Journal. 795 (2): 121. arXiv:1309.5421. Bibcode:2014ApJ...795..121L. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/795/2/121. hdl:1885/152107. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 13365680.
4. Lopez, Laura A.; Castro, Daniel; Slane, Patrick O.; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; Badenes, Carles (2014-01-01). "Identification of a Jet-driven Supernova Remnant in the Small Magellanic Cloud: Possible Evidence for the Enhancement of Bipolar Explosions at Low Metallicity". The Astrophysical Journal. 788 (1): 5. arXiv:1310.4498. Bibcode:2014ApJ...788....5L. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/788/1/5. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 41133138.
5. Lopez, Laura A.; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; Castro, Daniel; Pearson, Sarah (2013-01-01). "The Galactic Supernova Remnant W49B Likely Originates from a Jet-driven, Core-collapse Explosion". The Astrophysical Journal. 764 (1): 50. arXiv:1301.0618. Bibcode:2013ApJ...764...50L. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/764/1/50. hdl:1721.1/94512. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 15588994.
6. "About Me". www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
7. "Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy | American Astronomical Society". aas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
8. "RCSA Names Two Dozen 2019 Cottrell Scholars | Research Corporation for Science Advancement". rescorp.org. Retrieved 2019-03-24.

• Living people
• People from Barrington, Illinois
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
• Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy
• Ohio State University faculty
• American women astronomers
• University of California, Santa Cruz alumni