Alice Shapley

Alice Shapley is a UCLA astronomer whose research focuses on distant galaxies, using spectroscopy to study how galaxies form and evolve over cosmic time. Her work has provided insights into star formation rates and the structural development of galaxies in the early universe.

Shapley is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). There she leads research on galaxy evolution using data from major observatories including the W. M. Keck Observatory.

Shapley's spectroscopy research on galaxy formation earned her election as a 2021 APS Fellow. Her studies of distant galaxies and their properties have been published in numerous peer-reviewed astrophysics journals.

Shapley uses spectroscopy—analyzing the light from distant galaxies—to measure properties like chemical composition, star formation rates, and internal motions. These observations are typically conducted using large ground-based telescopes such as those at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii.