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Q: You are a physicist, astronomer and astrophysicist – what caused you to choose this career path?

Q: In a field with few women, was there any person you felt influenced or helped you reach your goals?

Q: Your work has touched on both astronomy through the NASA Hubble Space Telescope project and astrophysics with your work examining super massive black holes at the center of galaxies. What led you to this specialty and why do you think it’s important?

Q: As a strong advocate for women in science, why do you think there are so few women in physics and what can be done about it?

Q: What are the challenges facing women in physics and astronomy?

Q: Why is diversity in scientific fields important?

Q: You were the first female Chair of the Department of Physics at Yale University and have been one of a relatively small number of women in a leadership position in physics. Is that particularly challenging?

Q: What advice do you have for young women who might be interested in careers in physics and related fields?

Biography

Meg Urry is the Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Yale University and Director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. Her scientific research focuses on supermassive black holes in galaxies, and she has published over 150 refereed articles in scientific journals. She came to Yale in 2001 from her tenured position on the senior scientific staff at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which runs the Hubble Space Telescope for NASA. Urry has worked hard to increase the number of women in the physical sciences, organizing national meetings on women in astronomy in 1992 and 2003, leading the U.S. delegation to the first international meeting on Women in Physics in Paris, France in 2002, chairing the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy for the American Astronomical Society, and editing the STATUS newsletter. In 2007, she was appointed the first woman Chair of the Department of Physics at Yale. Urry completed her undergraduate work at Tufts University and received her PhD from Johns Hopkins University.