November 13, 2006
University of Chicago awards honorary degree
to astronomer Sandra Faber
By Tim Stephens
The University of Chicago has awarded an honorary D.Sc. degree
to Sandra Faber, University Professor and chair of the Department
of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Faber received the degree at
a ceremony on October 27 during the inauguration of Robert J.
Zimmer as president of the university.
Sandra Faber
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At the inauguration ceremony, Zimmer presented honorary degrees
to Faber and six other scholars. In honoring Faber, the University
of Chicago recognized her accomplishments in observational astronomy,
particularly in the field of galaxy formation and evolution,
as well as her leadership in the design and construction of
the DEIMOS spectrograph, one of the most powerful instruments
of the Keck 10-meter telescopes.
The following citation accompanies the degree:
Faber has also received honorary degrees from Swarthmore College
and Williams College. Her many other honors include Harvard's
Bok Prize, the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics, and election
to the American Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of
Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. In
1995, she was appointed University Professor, the highest honor
for faculty in the UC system.
Faber earned a B.A. in physics at Swarthmore College and a
Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University. She joined the UCSC
faculty in 1972.