Kathryn Kreckel

Kathryn Kreckel and a girl child wearing lab goggles

1. Can you describe your role in the SDSS collaboration and what you enjoy most about it?

I am Survey Scientist for LVM, and am always thrilled to see collaboration members putting together early science results with our new data set!

2. Can you tell us about your educational background and how you got interested in the field of astronomy/astrophysics?

I started out with a focus in my Bachelor’s degree on math, but realized at some point that applying those math skills was much more fun. I wasn’t so interested in doing physics labs, but analyzing radio signals taken from the top of our astronomy building was fascinating.

3. What projects are you currently working on and what are you most excited about?

I am so excited to see our new LVM telescope become a reality, and the beautiful images and data cubes it is producing are inspiring. The level of physical resolution we are achieving in mapping the nebular conditions (density, temperature, abundances) in nearby star-forming regions is thrilling and terrifying (as an extragalactic astronomer), but I know we will learn so much.

4. Can you describe how you balance work and personal life, and what advice would you give to someone just starting in the field?

As a mother with two kids, it’s not easy to keep up with everything. I wouldn’t say it’s possible to “have it all”, but I think it’s important for each individual to decide what their priorities are, and for us all to be accepting that we all have different answers to this. I make an effort to keep work to working-hours (e.g. 9 to 5), which means I miss a lot of telecons. Luckily, there are many asynchronous ways to connect with this international collaboration!

5. Can you share with us a unique hobby or interest that you have outside of work?

I am happy to chat endlessly about 3D printing, it’s fascinating to be able to model and build practical (and impractical) devices out of a string of plastic. Like knitting, but more adaptable.

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