Judith Young (astronomer)

Judith (Rubin) Young (September 15, 1952 – May 23, 2014) was an American physicist, astronomer, and educator. The American Physical Society honored Young with the first Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award for being the best young physicist in the world in 1986. "Her pioneering galactic structure research included some of the earliest mapping of CO emission in galaxies followed by the most extensive surveys molecular gas and star formation in nearby galaxies."

Young worked with Nick Z. Scoville in a study which measured the cold gas and carbon monoxide content of galaxies. The pair made the discovery that the distribution of light and gas is proportional in galaxies. The American Astronomical Society honored her work by awarding her the Annie J. Cannon Prize for being a young woman astronomer with promising research in 1982.

Judith Young was a physics and astronomy professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has published more than 130 papers, mentored 5 Ph.D candidates, and 15 undergraduate research endeavors. Young was born in Washington D.C., the daughter of astronomer Vera Rubin and mathematical biophysicist Robert Rubin. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Astronomy from Harvard University and graduated with Honors. She also received her M.S and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Minnesota. In 1989, Judith was promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure. She is most known for her Sunwheel project. Young's goal for this project was to bring astronomy down to earth and to an empty lot near the football stadium and soccer fields at the UMASS campus. Judith Young was not only known for her work in the field of astronomy, but for her work at UMASS campus and her local community.