Barbara Ryden
Barbara Sue Ryden (born May 2, 1961) is an American astrophysicist who is a Professor of Astronomy at Ohio State University. Her research considers the formation, shape and structure of galaxies. She was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2016. Early life and education. Ryden studied physics and integrated sciences at Northwestern University. She moved to Princeton University as a doctoral student, where she worked alongside James Gunn. She was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. Research and career. Ryden  joined the faculty at Ohio State University in 1992. She studies the formation and shapes of galaxies. Her research made use of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and various numerical simulations. She has shown that the galactic disks at the centre of spiral galaxies are more elliptical than circular. Ryden has written several astronomy textbooks, including "Introduction to Cosmology, Interstellar and Intergalactic Medium" and "Foundations of Astrophysics".