The Royal Astronomical Society in the United Kingdom has awarded its Gold Medal in Astronomy to Sandra Faber, professor emerita of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The award honors Professor Faber “for her outstanding research on the formation, structure and evolution of galaxies, and for her contributions to the optical design of the Keck Telescopes and other novel astronomical instruments.”
The Gold Medal is the Royal Astronomical Society’s highest award, often given in recognition of a lifetime’s work. Previous recipients include Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, and Steven Hawking.
Dr. Faber joined the faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1972. In 1995 she was appointed University Professor, the highest honor for faculty in the University of California System. She received the National Medal of Science in 2013.
A graduate of Swarthmore College, where she majored in physics, Dr. Faber earned a Ph.D. in astronomy at Harvard University.