Jane R. Rigby

Jane R. Rigby is an American astrophysicist who works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as Senior Project Scientist of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). She has frequently made public appearances and is known for her association with the telescope. She has also worked to support inclusivity in science. In 2024, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden.

Originally from Seaford, Delaware, Rigby received a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University, followed by a master's degree and PhD from the University of Arizona. In 2010, Rigby joined GSFC as the deputy operations project scientist of the planned JWST, which had been facing cost and schedule issues. She became the operations project scientist in 2018, which involved assessing the success of the telescope after its 2021 launch. She was involved in the publication of its first results and the release of its first images. In 2023, she succeeded John C. Mather as the telescope's senior project scientist.

Education and personal life Jane Rigby was born and raised in Seaford, Delaware. Both of her parents were teachers, and she has one sister. After attending a talk by Sally Ride, when she was about twelve years old, she wanted to become an astronaut,

Rigby moved to the University of Arizona for graduate studies in 2000, where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and received a master's degree in 2003. She received a PhD from the same institution in 2006, under the supervision of George H. Rieke. Rigby was then appointed as a postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Observatories in California.

There, she met another graduate student in astronomy, Leistra died in 2025.

Career

Rigby has authored over 150 papers. Rigby is also responsible for TEMPLATES (Targeting Extremely Magnified Panchromatic Lensed Arcs and Their Extended Star Formation), a project that images gravitationally lensed galaxies. She announced this project's discovery of hydrocarbons in a galaxy over twelve billion light years away in June 2023. In this position, she managed the scientific goals of the telescope. in recognition of her work on JWST In her hometown, the Seaford Museum planned an exhibit about JWST for the following summer. 2013 NASA Robert H. Goddard Award for Exceptional Achievement for Science 2018 John C. Lindsay Memorial Award for Space Science 2021 Nature's 10 Ones to Watch in 2022 2022 Out to Innovate LGBTQ+ Scientist of the Year 2022 BBC 100 Women