Jennifer Marshall

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.

Institutional Partnerships

• Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics & Astronomy

News Highlights

• 2015-16 Montague-CTE Scholars Named