Rate My Professor Alyssa Goodman

In Space Science, Goodman's research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics focuses on interstellar gas dynamics, star formation processes, and the three-dimensional structure of the Milky Way, utilizing observations across X-ray to radio wavelengths. She served as Principal Investigator for the COMPLETE Survey of Star-Forming Regions, which comprehensively mapped key Galactic star-forming areas. Recent efforts by her collaborations have identified major structures including the Bones of the Milky Way, the Radcliffe Wave, the Perseus-Taurus Supershell, and star formation associated with the Local Bubble. Goodman leads the development of glue, a high-dimensional linked-view data visualization software initially for the James Webb Space Telescope and now applied in medical imaging, genomics, and machine learning. She organizes the Seamless Astronomy collaboration and the HarvardX PredictionX course, tracing prediction from ancient divination to modern simulations. Notable publications include "Dense cores in dark clouds. VIII. Velocity gradients" (1993), "Structural analysis of molecular clouds: dendrograms" (2008), "The COMPLETE survey of star-forming regions: Phase I data" (2006), and "Ten simple rules for responsible big data research" (2017). Her honors include the American Astronomical Society's Newton Lacy Pierce Prize (1997), election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009), and Harvard Foundation Scientist of the Year (2015).