Jacqueline H. van Gorkom

Jacqueline van Gorkom is Rutherfurd professor emerita of astronomy. As a student she was told, if you observe a lot and look very carefully at your data, you are bound to find interesting things. This has been her motto over the years. Prof. van Gorkom is a radio astronomer interested in the role of gas in galaxy evolution. She has explored the fate of gas in different environments, clusters, voids, groups, and mergers. Prof. van Gorkom is currently investigating the role of gas in galaxy growth over time and using the new capabilities of the upgraded VLA and MeerKAT. She received her PhD at the Kapteyn Institute in Groningen, spent a decade on the scientific staff at the VLA and then joined the faculty at Columbia, where she was Director of Graduate Studies for two decades and Chair for seven years. She has held visiting appointments at the Raman Institute in Bangalore, the Kapteyn Institute in Groningen, in Princeton, Berkeley, and Caltech.


Last updated December 22, 2022