Dr. Margaret Geller

Margaret J. Geller is a pioneer in mapping the large scale structure of the universe. Her maps have provided a new view of the enormous patterns in the distribution of galaxies like the Milky Way --- the largest patterns we know. 

Dr. Geller's long-range scientific goals are to discover what the universe looks like and to understand how it came to have the rich patterns we observe today. To put the pieces of this grand puzzle together her research projects range from the structure of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, to mapping the distribution of the mysterious, ubiquitous dark matter in the universe.

Dr. Geller's current main research interests are:

• Mapping the distribution of the mysterious, ubiquitous dark matter in the universe.
• Mapping the middle-aged universe to understand how clusters and large-scale structure evolve. She leads a project called HectoMAP.
• Combining redshift surveys and weak lensing to understand how galaxies trace the dark matter in the universe

Dr. Geller completed her Bachelor’s degree in Physics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1970, and her Ph.D. in Physics at Princeton in 1974. Dr. Geller is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1990. Other include the Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the Klopsteg Memorial Award, the James Craig Watson medal, the Russell Lectureship, the Lilienfeld Prize, the Magellanic Premium, the Karl Schwarzschild Medal, the Library Lion of the New York Public Library, and seven honorary degrees.