Priscilla Frisch


Priscilla Diane Chapman Frisch was an American astronomer. She was a senior scientist in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago. She worked with NASA on two unmanned mission to explore beyond the solar system.

Early life and education

Frisch was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Richard Courtney Chapman Jr. and Patricia Blasdel Chapman. Growing up exploring on her father's boat in the Pacific, Frisch had always had a passion for the outdoors. Frisch first learned to rock climb at CU Boulder, where she studied before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley. There, she served as the president of the Berkeley Hiking club. After finishing her undergraduate studies in 1966, Frisch was then accepted into the astronomy graduate program at Berkeley, where she would graduate with a Ph.D. in Astronomy in 1977 with a dissertation titled "The Scorpius-Ophiuchus Diffuse Interstellar Cloud".

Career

Frisch began working at the University of Chicago Laboratory of Space and Astronomy in 1974. She studied the heliosphere and the interstellar medium, "the wispy matter that lies between stars". She worked with NASA on the Interstellar Boundary Explorer and on the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe. Frisch published over 160 research papers, in scientific journals including The Astrophysical Journal, ''Science, Space Science Reviews, Journal of Geophysical Research, Advances in Space Research, and Astronomy & Astrophysics.''

Publications

  • "High-resolution observations of the Lyman alpha sky background"
  • "The physical properties of the 'local fluff'"
  • "Morphology and Ionization of the Interstellar Cloud Surrounding the Solar System"
  • "Characteristics of nearby interstellar matter"
  • "Consequences of a change in the galactic environment of the Sun"
  • "Dust in the Local Interstellar Wind"
  • "The galactic environment of the Sun"
  • "The Velocity Distribution of the Nearest Interstellar Gas"
  • "The Ionization of Nearby Interstellar Gas"
  • "The chemical composition and gas-to-dust mass ratio of nearby interstellar matter"
  • "Heliospheric Response to Different Possible Interstellar Environments" Solar Journey: The Significance of Our Galactic Environment for the Heliosphere and Earth
  • "The boundary conditions of the heliosphere: photoionization models constrained by interstellar and in situ data"
  • "The Interstellar Medium Surrounding the Sun"
  • "Whence the interstellar magnetic field shaping the heliosphere?"

Personal life

Chapman married physicist Henry J. Frisch; his parents David H. Frisch and Rose Frisch were both noted scientists. Priscilla and Henry Frisch had two daughters. She died in 2025, at the age of 81, at her home in Hyde Park, Chicago.