Dean of Science for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Professor of Physics
Columbia University
Department of Physics
538 W. 120th St.
1024 Pupin, Mail Code 5221
New York, NY 10027
email: amber(at)phys.columbia.edu
Office phone:    (212) 854-4987
Fax:                   (212) 854-8121

Brief Bio Sketch

Amber Miller leads the Columbia University Experimental Cosmology group dedicated to studying relic signatures from the Big Bang with the goal of understanding the origin and evolution of the universe. Specifically, the team studies the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect (SZE) using sensitive centimeter and millimeter-wave instruments designed specifically for this work. The Columbia team designs, builds, deploys, and analyzes data from novel telescopes employing cutting edge technology, much of which is piloted and tested by the group. The QUIET and EBEX experiments are designed to probe detailed physics in the universe when it was much less than one second old. The first QUIET camera, built at Columbia, recently observed the CMB from 17,000 ft. in the Atacama desert in Chile. The EBEX experiment is currently being integrated at Columbia's Nevis laboratories for it's Antarctic flight from a high-altitude balloon.

Prof. Miller has also long held an interest in issues on the interface between science and policy. She worked at Princeton University on issues related to satellite verification of nuclear non-proliferation agreements, organized a round table meeting at Columbia with the Union of Concerned Scientists, and has participated in several conferences on science and politics. Prof. Miller developed and piloted a seminar at Columbia entitled "Science, Politics, and Critical Thinking", and taught a lecture course entitled "Weapons of Mass Destruction". She is currently a Term Member on the Council on Foreign Relations and has recently consulted for the NYPD as the Chief Science Advisor to the Counterterrorism Bureau. Prof. Miller is currently serving as the Dean of Science for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

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