Karen Beth Shipley Bjorkman is an American astronomer whose research applies polarimetry to the study of massive stars and circumstellar discs.
Her dissertation, Ultraviolet and infrared studies of Be stars, was supervised by Theodore Snow.
[4] She became dean of the university's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 2010, and was named interim provost and executive vice president in 2019.
[5] Bjorkman was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2017.
[6] In 2023 the American Astronomical Society (AAS) named Bjorkman as a Fellow of the AAS, "for important contributions to the study of Be stars and applications of astronomical polarimetry; strong leadership in education and in public outreach especially through Universe in the Park; a dedicated commitment to increasing diversity in astrophysics; and notable service to the astronomical community and her university".