When she was seven years old, Amy Mainzer saw a picture of a galaxy and instantly fell in love with astronomy. She’s been learning and exploring space ever since. Today, Amy works as an astronomer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, specializing in astrophysical instrumentation and infrared astronomy. She is the Deputy Project Scientist for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the Principal Investigator for the NEOWISE project to study minor planets and the proposed Near Earth Object Camera space telescope mission. Her research interests include asteroids, brown dwarfs, planetary atmospheres, debris disks, star formation and the design and construction of new ground- and space-based instrumentation.
To sum it all up in simple terms: Amy Mainzer is smart. And fun! And even has an asteroid named after her: Asteroid (234750) Amymainzer.
Recently, she’s joined the PBS KIDS family as science consultant and host for the new series, Ready Jet Go! #YouCanBeAnything
