Dr. Beth A. Brown

Astrophysics Science Division
NASA/GSFC
Code 662, X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory
Greenbelt, MD 20771

tel: 301-286-4132
fax: 301-286-1684
e-mail: Beth.A.Brown @ nasa.gov

Present Position

NASA Administrator's Fellow
Astrophysicist

Brief Bio

Dr. Brown received her undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Howard University, and received an M.S. and Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Michigan. She is the first African-American woman to obtain a doctorate from the University of Michigan's Department of Astronomy.

Dr. Brown came to Goddard in 1998 as an NRC Research Associate, and joined the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) at Goddard in 2001 as a civil servant. In 2005, she moved over to the X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, providing science support for the GSFC XMM Guest Observer Facility and continued science support and data acquisition for the NSSDC. Dr. Brown is currently a NASA Administrator’s Fellow. She completed her first year tenure as a NAFP Fellow at Howard University in Washington, DC, teaching and conducting research. She is completing the second phase of the NAFP program at NASA Headquarters Office of Education, also in Washington, DC. Dr. Brown's other activities include participation in various Goddard outreach programs, education/research-focused conferences, and seminars. She is also one of the Women of NASA.

Educational Background

Ph.D., Astronomy, University of Michigan, 1998

M.S., Astronomy, University of Michigan, 1994

B.S., Astrophysics, Summa Cum Laude, Howard University, 1991

Research Interests

Black holes, the hot interstellar medium in elliptical galaxies.

Current Projects

Examination of physical processes in the vicinity of black holes

Development of solicitations for the NASA HQ Office of Education, and providing oversight for an Office of Education program

Professional Societies

American Astronomical Society (High Energy Astrophysics Division member, member of the
Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy)

National Society of Black Physicists (former member of Executive Board)

Selected Publications

Brown, B.A., Williams, B.A., “ A Search for X-ray Emission in Isolated Compact Galaxy Triplets,” 2006,
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society.

Brown, B.A., "Has ram-pressure stripping removed the hot ISM from elliptical galaxies in clusters?," 2004,
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society , 36, No.5, 92.07.

Brown, B.A., Leisawitz, D., " Multiwavelength Milky Way: Learning on the Web," 2002, Bulletin of the American
Astronomical Society , 34, No.4, 53.11.

Gass, J. E.; Borne, K. D.; Brown, B. A.; Patton, D. R., "Project AstroData: Value-Added Educational Tutorials for
HST Data at NASA's Astronomical Data Center (ADC)," 2002, Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society , 34, No.2, 90.03.

Brown, B.A., Bregman, J.N., "Emission Mechanisms in X-Ray Faint Galaxies," 2001, The Astrophysical Journal,
547, 154.

Brown, B.A., Leisawitz, D., Boyd, P.T., Digel, S.W., Friedlander, J., Kessel, R.L., Smale, A.P., "The
Multiwavelength Milky Way Project," 2000, Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 32, No.4, 86.21.

Loewenstein, M., Mushotzky, R.F., Angelini, L., Brown, B.A., Arnaud, K.A., "Chandra Observations of Three
Elliptical Galaxies," 2000, Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 32, No.4, 30.03.

Brown, B.A., Bregman, J.N., "The Effect of Environment on the X-Ray Emission from Early-Type Galaxies,"
2000, The Astrophysical Journal, 539, 592.

Brown, B.A., Bregman, J.N., " Emission Mechanisms in X-Ray Faint Elliptical Galaxies," 2000, Bulletin of
the American Astronomical Society , 31, No.5, 70.03.

Selected Invited Talks

Brown, B.A., "X-Ray Study of Galaxies," Howard University, Washington, DC, 2006.

Brown, B.A., "NASA space science and a search for ram-pressure stripping in the Hydra I cluster," NASA Science
Week, Bennett College, Greensboro, NC, 2005.

Brown, B.A., "Discoveries from NASA Space Science," NASA Science Week, Bennett College, Greensboro, NC,
2003.

Brown, B.A., "Using NASA Astrophysics Archives for Research and Teaching," National Meeting of the American
Association of Physics Teachers, Austin, TX, 2003.

Brown, B. A., "Characteristics of Stars and the Effect of Light Pollution," invited lecture for "Introduction
to Physical Science", University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 2002.

Brown, B.A., "NASA and Astronomy - What does it Mean to You?" NASA Awareness Days, University of the Virgin
Islands, St. Thomas, VI, 2002.

Brown, B.A., "Keep Learning, Keep Doing, Keep Dreaming," 23rd Annual University Wide Research Symposium,
Tennessee State University, 2001.

Brown, B.A., "African-Americans in the NASA Space Science Enterprise," Maryland-National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, Silver Spring, Maryland, 2001.

Selected Presentations

Brown, B.A., “ Construction of Penrose Diagrams for Dynamic Black Holes,” Joint
Annual Meeting of the National Society of Black Physicists and National Society of Hispanic Physicists, Washington, DC, February 2008.

Brown, B.A., “ The STEM Education Pipeline,” Interagency Aerospace Revitalization Task Force Roundtable, Crystal City, VA, October 2007.

Brown, B.A., Williams, B.A., “ A Search for X-ray Emission in Isolated Compact Triplets of Galaxies,” Joint
Annual Meeting of the National Society of Black Physicists and National Society of Hispanic Physicists, San Jose, CA, February 2006.

Brown, B.A., "Being an Astrophysicist," Prince George's County Commission for Women Technology Symposium,
Largo. MD, June 2005.

Brown, B.A., "A search for ram-pressure stripping in the Hydra I cluster," Joint Annual Meeting of the
National Society of Black Physicists and National Society of Hispanic Physicists, Orlando, FL, February 2005.

Brown, B.A., and Maran, S.P., "Highlights in Space Sciences at GSFC," Graduate Student Researchers Program
(GSRP) Symposium 2004, Goddard Space Flight Center, September 2004.

Brown, B.A., "Has ram-pressure stripping removed hot interstellar gas from elliptical galaxies in clusters?,"
Joint Annual Meeting of the National Society of Black Physicists and National Society of Hispanic Physicists, Washington, DC, February 2004.

Brown, B.A., "Summer Programs, Scholarships and Fellowships," Annual Conference of the National Society of
Black Physicists, Atlanta, GA, 2003.

Brown, B.A., Brown, B., Love, W., Wilson, S., "Exploring Opportunities: the NASA Career Path, " NASA Awareness
Days, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, VI, 2002.

Brown, B.A., Coyle, B., Moreau, M., Weaver, K., "GSRP Transitioned to Civil Service," GSRP Symposium, Goddard
Space Flight Center, 2002.

Brown, B. A., "How Science Research Drives Technology," Patriots Summer Camp on Technology, Oxen Hill, MD,
2001.