Dr. Kimberly Weaver is an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and an expert in the fields of X-ray astronomy and black hole research. She currently serves as the U.S. Project Scientist for the XMM-Newton satellite, an X-ray astronomy mission that has just celebrated its 25th year in space. She received her bachelor’s degree in physics from West Virginia University in 1987, and her Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Maryland in 1993. She was a postdoctoral associate at Penn State University and Johns Hopkins University before joining NASA as a civil servant scientist in 1998.
Kimberly A Weaver
(RESEARCH AST, FIELDS & PARTICLES)
| Email: | kimberly.a.weaver@nasa.gov |
| Phone: | 301.286.4256 |
| Org Code: | 662 |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 662 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: |
Brief Bio
Current Projects
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I study: Beholding Black Hole Power with the Accretion Explorer Interferometer
Black Holes
Some of the most enigmatic objects in the Universe are giant supermassive black holes (SMBH). Yet after 30 years of study, we don’t know precisely how these objects produce their power. This requires observations at X-ray wavelengths. The state-of-the-art for X-ray images is Chandra (~0.5-1 arcsecond resolution) but this is insufficient to image regions near SMBH where the most energetic behavior occurs. The Accretion Explorer (AE) is a mission architecture that will shatter new ground by creating X-ray images at scientifically crucial energies up to 6 orders of magnitude better than Chandra, and will offer imaging at 4-5 orders of magnitude better than JWST (IR) and HST(optical/UV). The specific X-ray energy bands we are proposing to cover contain vital X-ray line signatures that can distinguish between SMBH activity and stellar processes. The AE NIAC concept would be a game changer for NASA and astrophysics. X-ray interferometry will challenge and change the conversation around future mission possibilities and will significantly contribute to our scientific knowledge base in astrophysics and other fields. AE has tremendous potential to generate enthusiasm for future missions and the potential to build advocacy to support it within NASA, society, and the aerospace community.
Positions/Employment
XMM-Newton U.S. Project Scientist
NASA - GSFC
April 2016 - Present
Astrophysicist, X-ray astrophysics lab
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD
September 2010 - Present
Associate Director for Science, Astrophysics Division
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD
February 2006 - September 2010
Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope
NASA - Washington, D.C.
September 2004 - February 2006
Astrophysicist
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD
July 1998 - September 2004
Associate Research Scientist
Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, MD
February 1996 - July 1998
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Penn State University - State College, PA
August 1993 - February 1996
Education
1993 - Ph.D., Astronomy, The University of Maryland at College Park. Thesis title: "The Complex Broad-band X-ray Spectra of Seyfert Galaxies"
1990 - M.S., Astronomy, The University of Maryland at College Park
1987 - B.S., Physics, West Virginia University
1990 - M.S., Astronomy, The University of Maryland at College Park
1987 - B.S., Physics, West Virginia University
Professional Societies
American Astronomical Society
1990 - Present
Awards
2023: GSFC Sciences and Exploration Directorate award for Excellence in Mentoring
2022: Robert H. Goddard Exceptional Achievement Award in Leadership
2020: American Astronomical Society (AAS) Legacy Fellow, inaugural class
2011: West Virginia University Academy of Distinguished Alumni
2009: Robert H. Goddard Exceptional Achievement Award in Outreach
2009: Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of Maryland Astronomy Department
2007: Alumni Recognition Award from the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University
1996: Presidential Early Career Award (PECASE), NASA Awardee
Publications
Refereed
2024. "Exploring X-Ray Properties of Low-metallicity Dwarf Galaxies." The Astrophysical Journal 961 (2): 178 [10.3847/1538-4357/ad0a6b] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "NuSTAR Observations of Four Mid-IR–Selected Dual AGN Candidates in Galaxy Mergers." The Astrophysical Journal 954 (2): 116 [10.3847/1538-4357/ace2c0] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "A New Sample of Transient Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources Serendipitously Discovered by Swift/XRT." The Astrophysical Journal 951 (1): 51 [10.3847/1538-4357/acd18a] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "The Messy Nature of Fiber Spectra: Star–Quasar Pairs Masquerading as Dual Type 1 AGNs." The Astrophysical Journal 945 (2): 167 [10.3847/1538-4357/acbd45] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Simulations of AGN-driven Galactic Outflow Morphology and Content." The Astronomical Journal 163 (3): 134 [10.3847/1538-3881/ac4d23] [Journal Article/Letter]
2010. "The First Detection of [O IV] from an Ultraluminous X-Ray Source with Spitzer I Observational Results for Holmberg II ULX." The Astrophysical Journal 708 354 [Full Text] [10.1088/0004-637X/708/1/354] [Journal Article/Letter]
2010. "The First Detection of [O IV] from an Ultraluminous X-ray Source with Spitzer II Evidence for High Luminosity in Holmberg II ULX." The Astrophysical Journal 708 364 [Full Text] [10.1088/0004-637X/708/1/364] [Journal Article/Letter]
2010. "Mid-infrared Properties of the Swift Burst Alert Telescope Active Galactic Nuclei Sample of the Local Universe. I. Emission-line Diagnostics." The Astrophysical Journal 716 (2): 1151-1165 [Full Text] [10.1088/0004-637X/716/2/1151] [Journal Article/Letter]
2007. "Relativistic Iron K Emission and Absorption in the Seyfert 19 Galaxy MCG -5-23-16." The Astrophysical Journal 670 978 [Full Text] [10.1086/521916] [Journal Article/Letter]
2007. "Probing Unification with Chandra HETGS and XMM-Newton EPIC and RGS Spectroscopy of the Narrow Emission Line Galaxy NGC 2110." The Astrophysical Journal 671 1345 [Full Text] [10.1086/523037] [Journal Article/Letter]
2007. "Possible X-Ray Diagnostic for Jet/Disk Dominance in Type 1 AGNs." The Astrophysical Journal 664 101 [Full Text] [10.1086/518783] [Journal Article/Letter]
2006. "The iron emission line complex of MCG-5-23-16: the long XMM-Newton look." Astronomische Nachrichten, Vol327, Issue 10, p1067 327 1067 [Full Text] [10.1002/asna.200610694] [Journal Article/Letter]
2006. "The Chandra, Hubble Space Telescope, and VLA View of the Circumnuclear Extended Emission in the Narrow Emission Line Galaxy NGC 2110." The Astrophysical Journal 653 1121 [Full Text] [10.1086/508680] [Journal Article/Letter]
2005. "Extranuclear X-Ray Emission in the Edge-on Seyfert Galaxy NGC 2992." The Astrophysical Journal 628 113 [Full Text] [10.1086/430734] [Journal Article/Letter]
2004. "A High Spatial Resolution X-Ray and Hα Study of Hot Gas in the Halos of Star-forming Disk Galaxies I Spatial and Spectral Properties of the Diffuse X-Ray Emission." The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 151 193 [Full Text] [10.1086/382214] [Journal Article/Letter]
2004. "Old and Young X-Ray Point Source Populations in Nearby Galaxies." The Astrophysical Journal 602 231 [Full Text] [10.1086/380899] [Journal Article/Letter]
2004. "A High Spatial Resolution X-Ray and Hα Study of Hot Gas in the Halos of Star-forming Disk Galaxies II Quantifying Supernova Feedback." The Astrophysical Journal 606 829 [Full Text] [10.1086/383136] [Journal Article/Letter]
2003. "Fe XXV and Fe XXVI Diagnostics of the Black Hole and Accretion Disk in Active Galaxies: Chandra Time-resolved Grating Spectroscopy of NGC 7314." The Astrophysical Journal 596 85 [Full Text] [10.1086/377687] [Journal Article/Letter]
2002. "Chandra Observations of NGC 253 II On the Origin of Diffuse X-Ray Emission in the Halos of Starburst Galaxies." The Astrophysical Journal 568 689 [Full Text] [10.1086/338889] [Journal Article/Letter]
2002. "The X-Ray Reflectors in the Nucleus of the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1068." The Astrophysical Journal 581 182 [Full Text] [10.1086/344100] [Journal Article/Letter]
2001. "Variable Iron Kα Lines in Seyfert 1 Galaxies." The Astrophysical Journal 550 261 [Full Text] [10.1086/319713] [Journal Article/Letter]
2001. "Another Intermediate-Mass Black Hole in a Starburst Galaxy? The Luminous X-Ray Source in NGC 3628 Reappears." The Astrophysical Journal 560 707 [Full Text] [10.1086/323055] [Journal Article/Letter]
2000. "An X-Ray MiniSurvey of Nearby Edge-on Starburst Galaxies II The Question of Metal Abundance." The Astrophysical Journal 534 684 [Full Text] [10.1086/308786] [Journal Article/Letter]
2000. "Ambiguities in Fits to the Complex X-Ray Spectra of Starburst Galaxies." The Astrophysical Journal 538 555 [Full Text] [10.1086/309186] [Journal Article/Letter]
2000. "X-Ray Emission from Seyfert 2 Galaxies with Optical Polarized Broad Lines." The Astrophysical Journal 542 175 [Full Text] [10.1086/309516] [Journal Article/Letter]
2000. "Chandra Observations of NGC 253: New Insights into the Nature of Starburst-driven Superwinds." The Astronomical Journal 120 2965 [Full Text] [10.1086/316846] [Journal Article/Letter]
1993. "Resolving the iron K line in Cygnus X-2; an observation with BBXRT." ApJ 410 796. [Journal Article/Letter]