John and Marion Sullivan University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the College
- Address:
- ERC 535
- Phone:
- (773) 834-5651
- Email:
- wfreedman[at]uchicago.edu
- Assistant
- Julia Brazas
(773) 834-8401
Background
PhD, University of Toronto, 1984
Research Fields
- Observational cosmology
- Hubble constant
- Dark energy
- Extragalactic distance scale
- Supernovae
- Cepheids
- Galaxy evolution
- Initial mass function
Research Groups
- Freedman H0 Group
- Initial Mass Function (IMF)
Scientific Projects
- Carnegie Supernova Project
- Carnegie-Chicago Hubble Program
- Hubble Space Telescope Key Project
Students
- Alexavier Moore (current undergraduate/Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Erin Coleman (current graduate/Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Kayla Owens (graduate/Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Taylor Hoyt (former graduate/Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Abby Lee (former graduate/Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Finian Ashmead (former undergraduate/Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- William Cerny (former undergraduate/Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Alexandra Masegian (former undergraduate/Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Blake Moss (former undergraduate/Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Elias Oakes (former undergraduate/Physics and Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Quang Tran (former undergraduate/Physics)
Postdocs
- Anja Feldmeier-Krause (former)
- In Sung Jang
- Ilaria Lonoce (former)
- Richard Smith
Affiliations
Department Committees (2025-2026)
- Adler Visiting Committee
- Appointments and Promotions (Chair)
- Awards
- Budget and Policy
- Giant Magellan Telescope (Chair)
Research
Wendy Freedman's research is in observational cosmology (measurements of the expansion rate of the universe using the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and the ground-based Magellan telescope). Her current projects involve measurements of the Hubble constant -- the current expansion rate -- addressing whether the difference in the cosmic background inference of the Hubble constant, and that measured locally using Cepheids and supernovae, is evidence for new physics beyond the standard cosmological model. Her other field of interest is the stellar populations of galaxies, the evolution of galaxies, and the initial mass function.
News & Highlights
- Prof. Wendy Freedman recognized with 2026 Franklin Institute Award in Physics, November 12, 2025
- New measure of the universe’s expansion suggests resolution of a conflict, May 27, 2025
- Prof. Wendy Freedman awarded the National Medal of Science, January 6, 2025
- Wendy Freedman one of Nature’s 10 people who helped shape science in 2024, December 12, 2024
- New Webb Telescope data suggests our model of the universe may hold up after all, August 22, 2024
- Wendy Freedman has been awarded the Georges Lemaître International Prize, May 30, 2024
- Wendy Freedman has been elected to the Royal Society, PSD News, May 10, 2023
- “Prof. Wendy Freedman to present Ryerson Lecture on ‘Our Expanding Universe’ “, UChicago News, April 5, 2023
- “NASA’s new flagship telescope just released its beautiful first images of the universe”, UChicago News, by Louise Lerner, July 12, 2022
- Prof. Wendy Freedman named speaker for UChicago’s 2022 Convocation celebration, UChicago News, March 3, 2022
- “Aging stars provide a new cosmological yardstick”, by Nora Bailey, PSD News, March 1, 2021
- Mystery over Universe’s expansion deepens with fresh data, July 17, 2020
- New view of nature’s oldest light adds fresh twist to debate over universe’s age, July 17, 2020
- Professor Wendy Freedman leads study for new measurement of disputed constant, August 20, 2019