Katie Bouman Bio – Katie Bouman Wiki

Katie Bouman (full name: Katherine Louise Bouman) was born on May 9, 1989, according to a search of online records. She is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the California Institute of Technology. She researches computational methods for imaging and was responsible for an algorithm that made possible the first visualization of a black hole using the Event Horizon Telescope.

Katie Bouman Early life and education

Bouman hails from Indiana. She first heard about the Event Horizon Telescope as a high school student in West Lafayette, Indiana. She studied electrical engineering at the University of Michigan and graduated cum laude. Bouman earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also completed her doctorate. At the Institue, she was a member of the MIT Haystack Observatory. She was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. Her master’s thesis, Estimating Material Properties of Fabric through the observation of Motion, was awarded the Ernst Guillemin Award for best Masters Thesis. Bouman joined Harvard University as a postdoctoral fellow on the Event Horizon Telescope Imaging team.

In 2017 Bouman delivered a TED Talk, How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole.

Katie Bouman Research and career (Black Hole)

In 2019, Bouman joined the California Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor. She works on new systems for computational imaging.

Bouman was responsible for an algorithm using in creating the first images of a black hole, published in April 2019, providing computational support to learn about general relativity in the strong-field regime. Bouman theorised that black holes leave a background shadow of hot gas.

Bouman began collaborating with the Event Horizon Telescope while she was still a student. She stayed on as a postdoctoral fellow after earning her doctorate degree.

She accepted a Visiting Associate position in the Computing and Mathematical Sciences department at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Her research focus is described on the Caltech website as “designing systems that tightly integrate algorithm and sensor design, making it possible to observe phenomena previously difficult or impossible to measure with traditional approaches.”

Bouman is the researcher who led the creation of an algorithm that allowed scientists to capture images of a black hole for the very first time. The National Science Foundation revealed the never-before-seen picture on April 10th, 2019.

Bouman posted a picture of herself with her hands up to her mouth with the black hole image on her computer screen in the background. She wrote in the caption, “Watching in disbelief as the first image I ever made of a black hole was in the process of being reconstructed.”

Watching in disbelief as the first image I ever made of a black hole was in the process of being reconstructed. Posted by Katie Bouman on Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Bouman has written for Astronomy Now.

Dr. Katie Bouman, who led the creation of an algorithm that helped capture the first ever image of a black hole, tells us what this breakthrough means for science 👩‍🔬 #EHTBlackHole #BlackHole pic.twitter.com/GytahzG8bh — Nature News & Comment (@NatureNews) April 13, 2019

Katie Bouman Subject of Social Media Trolling

Internet Troll began questioning why the Bouman was receiving the attention while the Black Hole project was a group effort. Some of the trolls went on to involve Andrew Chael, who was listed on GitHub as the primary developer for one of the algorithms that revealed the black hole and started circulating his picture instead. Chael was having none of it. The Developer posted;

(1/7) So apparently some (I hope very few) people online are using the fact that I am the primary developer of the eht-imaging software library (https://t.co/n7djw1r9hY) to launch awful and sexist attacks on my colleague and friend Katie Bouman. Stop. — Andrew Chael (@thisgreyspirit) April 12, 2019

It’s wonderful to be recognized for your work. But it must also be uncomfortable to stand in a spotlight and be asked to take a final bow for your starring role when you were part of an ensemble cast.

“I AM SO LUCKY TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH YOU ALL.”

In response to the attention, Bouman wrote in a Facebook post: “No one algorithm or person made this image, it required the amazing talent of a team of scientists from around the globe and years of hard work to develop the instrument, data processing, imaging methods, and analysis techniques that were necessary to pull off this seemingly impossible feat. It has been truly an honor, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with you all.”

It’s the internet; things got worse. In what can only be described as a sexist scavenger hunt, people began going over her work to see how much she’d really contributed to the project that skyrocketed her to unasked-for fame. The trolls focused in on one of her colleagues,

I'm so excited that we finally get to share what we have been working on for the past year! The image shown today is the… Posted by Katie Bouman on Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Katie Bouman Husband (Joe Leong), Wedding

Bouman is married to Joe Leong. She posted a wedding photo of her wedding with Leong on December 9th, 2018.

According to her profile on TheKnot.com, Bouman married Joe Leong on September 2, 2018, in Michigan. Her cover photo on Facebook displays her wedding dress.