Biography
Jennifer Marshall is an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University. Her scientific interests include the study of near-field cosmology, specifically using metal-poor stars found in the halo of the Milky Way to better understand the formation mechanisms of the Galaxy and of the Universe as a whole. Most recently she has focused on studying the detailed kinematics and chemistry of satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, particularly those that have been discovered by the Dark Energy Survey.
Jennifer currently serves as the Project Scientist for the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer, a next-generation massively multiplexed spectroscopic observatory. As an astronomical instrument builder she has led Texas A&M’s involvement in the Dark Energy Survey, producing the calibration systems that enable the unprecedentedly precise photometric measurements produced by the survey, and also in the HETDEX project, building the VIRUS spectrographs. She has also worked to develop a conceptual design for GMACS, the wide field multi-object spectrograph that will be a first-light instrument for the Giant Magellan Telescope.
Selected Publications
Gary J. Hill, et al. “The HETDEX Instrumentation: Hobby--Eberly Telescope Wide-field Upgrade and VIRUS.” The Astronomical Journal, 162(6), 298, Dec 2021.
T. T. Hansen, A. H. Riley, L. E. Strigari, J. L. Marshall, P. S. Ferguson, J. Zepeda, and C. Sneden. “A Chemo-dynamical Link between the Gjöll Stream and NGC 3201.” The Astrophysical Journal, 901(1), 23, Sep 2020.
T. T. Hansen, et al. “Chemical Analysis of the Ultrafaint Dwarf Galaxy Grus II. Signature of High-mass Stellar Nucleosynthesis.” The Astrophysical Journal, 897(2), 183, Jul 2020.
Szeto K., Simons D., Marshall J. L., and Laychak M. B. “Planning of the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer preliminary design phase in an evolving astronomy landscape.” In SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020.
Jennifer L. Marshall, Andreea O. Petric, and Nicolas Flagey. “A design reference survey for the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer.” In SPIE Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2020.
J. L. Marshall, et al. “Chemical Abundance Analysis of Tucana III, the Second r-process Enhanced Ultra-faint Dwarf Galaxy.” The Astrophysical Journal, 882(2), 177, Sep 2019.
Jennifer Marshall, et al. “The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer.” In Astro2020: Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics, APC white papers, no. 126; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 51, Issue 7, id. 126 (2019), 2019.
T. M. C. Abbott, et al. “The Dark Energy Survey: Data Release 1.” The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 239(2), 18, Nov 2018.
D. Q. Nagasawa, et al. “Chemical Abundance Analysis of Three \(\alpha\)-poor, Metal-poor Stars in the Ultrafaint Dwarf Galaxy Horologium I.” The Astrophysical Journal, 852(2), 99, Jan 2018.
M. Soares-Santos, et al. “The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. I. Discovery of the Optical Counterpart Using the Dark Energy Camera.” The Astrophysical Journal, 848(2), L16, Oct 2017.
Awards & Recognition
- Montague-Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar (2015)
- Ethel Ashworth-Tsutsui Memorial Award for Mentoring (2011)
- Association of Former Students College-Level Teaching Distinguished Achievement Award (2019)
- College of Science Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award (2017)
- College of Science Leadership in Equity and Diversity (LEAD) Award (2016)
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