CELEBRATED MUSLIM SCIENTIST WHO DISCOVERED A NEW GALAXY
“Dr. Mutlu-Pakdil’s success is another great example of the ‘American Success Story’ where an individual who is an immigrant woman, and a Muslim, gets an opportunity to rise to the pinnacle of her domain, irrespective of her background.”
Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, Ph.D., will be speaking about the rare galaxy, PGC 1000714, which she helped to discover in 2016. She will also be presenting her current research on dark matter, black holes, and other peculiar ringed galaxies. The discovery of her dwarf galaxy raises many questions about how the Universe works. Mutlu-Pakdil is an astrophysicist from a small town in Turkey. She is the first member of her family to graduate from high school. She obtained her Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Minnesota, where she found the galaxy that is now named Burcin’s galaxy. Mutlu-Pakdil, who has chronicled how difficult it was for her as a woman to pursue a career in science, admits she initially faced doubt from her family and community as she began her education at Bilkent University in Turkey. But her passion for the stars kept her going as she made the bold decision to travel to the United States to continue her education at Texas Tech University.
