Kim Weaver

At Goddard's Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Weaver was a civil servant scientist, focusing on x-ray astronomy, particularly the Constellation X satellite project, which is part of NASA's "Beyond Einstein" program, as the Deputy Project Scientist. During her tenure at Goddard, she also worked extensively with the Chandra X-ray Telescope where many important observations were made with respect to starburst galaxies, black holes and other astronomical phenomena. In addition to Chandra, Weaver has worked with other x-ray telescopes such as the XXM-Newton, RXTE, and the BeppoSAX, satellites. In 2005 she was on special assignment to the California Institute of Technology as the Spitzer Program Scientist for NASA. Weaver works now at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as an Astrophysicist in the X-Ray astrophysics lab. Currently Weaver, in addition to working with NASA, is also an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

She attended West Virginia University and completed a B.S.degree in physics in 1987. She then enrolled at the University of Maryland in 1988, where she began working as a student intern at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Kim graduated from the University of Maryland in 1990 with M.S. in Astronomy. She was accepted to the University of Maryland at College Park and graduated in 1993 with Ph.D. in astronomy. Her doctoral thesis was in complex broad-band x-ray spectra of Seyfert Galaxies. Weaver spent an additional two years as a postdoctoral research associate at Penn State and another two years as an associate research scientist at Johns Hopkins University. In 1998, she returned to Goddard.

Weaver enjoys music, art, and singing. She also loves community theatre, where she participates in acting, directing and set design. She especially likes playing the part of Elvira in Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit. While in college she was a member of the WVU marching band and in 1986 was elected Miss Mountaineer. Weaver has a particular interest in involving children with astronomy. Her parents, Kenna and Patricia Weaver, still reside in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Dr. Kimberly A. Weaver (born April 19, 1964 in Morgantown, West Virginia) is an American astrophysics astronomer and professor. She has worked with NASA on several research projects. She is often seen on television programs about astronomy. She is an expert in the area of x-ray astronomy.