Straughn Selected as 2022 Johnson Fellow

U of A graduate Dr. Amber Straughn recently visited the university campus April 4-7 as the 2022 Arkansas Alumni Association Johnson Fellow.

The Johnson Fellows program is named for Dr. Jeff Johnson, B.A.’70, and his wife, Marcia. The Johnsons endowed the program in 2009 with the specific purpose of bringing esteemed alumni back to the U of A campus to engage and inspire students.

“The University of Arkansas was an instrumental part of my becoming an astrophysicist – as well being the place where I met my husband,” Straughn said. “I have so many great memories of my time at UA and am grateful and honored to be coming back to visit campus as the Johnson Fellow this year.”

Straughn shared her extensive knowledge of space along with her experiences at NASA during her visit to Fayetteville. She also spoke at a campus-wide lecture to present her research to the campus community.

“Marcia and I are thrilled to welcome Amber Straughn to campus as this year’s Johnson Fellow,” Jeff Johnson said. “Her remarkable career journey from the University of Arkansas to NASA and ultimately the stars is a story that students from all areas of our campus will find fascinating.”

Straughn, a native of Bee Branch, is an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and serves as the deputy project scientist for James Webb Space Telescope Science Communications. She is also the associate director of the Astrophysics Science Division.

Straughn obtained her Bachelor of Science in physics at the U of A in 2002 and completed her master’s and doctoral degrees in physics at Arizona State University in 2008. Her research focuses on interacting and star-forming galaxies in the context of galaxy assembly, where she uses imaging and infrared spectroscopic data mostly from the Hubble Space Telescope.

In addition to research, Straughn’s role with the Webb project science team involves working with communications and outreach activities. She is an experienced public speaker, with audiences ranging from small local classrooms to audiences of more than 2,200 at events such as Comic-Con and the World Science Festival.

Straughn also interacts frequently with the media, having done numerous live television interviews and media features for NASA, and has appeared on PBS NOVA, the Discovery Channel, the Science Channel, National Geographic, Spike TV and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. She’s done short interviews with CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera America, The Atlantic and other local media outlets.

Straughn received the Arkansas Alumni Association Young Alumni Award in 2016.

For more information on Straughn and the Johnson Fellows program, visit arkansasalumni.org/JohnsonFellows.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.