In 1972, Max received her
Ph.D. in Astrophysical Sciences from
Princeton University, following her
B.A. degree in
Astronomy from
Harvard University, in 1968. Following postdoctoral work at the
University of California, Berkeley, Max joined the scientific staff of the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1974, working on problems in plasma physics relating to fusion technology. In 1984, she became the founding Director of the Livermore branch of the UC Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, This work began at the
JASON Defense Advisory Group, which she joined in 1983 as its first female member. With her colleagues in JASON, she developed the idea of using an artificial
laser guide star to correct astronomical images. In addition to continuing to develop this technology at the
Center for Adaptive Optics, she uses adaptive optics to study
active galactic nuclei as well as planets in the
Solar System. ==Awards and honors==