Erna Martha Frins Pereira (born 31 December 1960) is a
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
an physicist. She works as a professor and researcher at the
University of the Republic
The University of the Republic (, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is a public research university in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is the country's oldest and largest university, as well as one of the largest public universities in South America in terms of en ...
. She was president of the Uruguayan Physics Society from 2007 to 2011. In 2012 she won the
National L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science for her research in
environmental physics.
Career
Between 1979 and 1986, Frins studied chemistry and physics at the University of the Republic. In 1992 she obtained a master's degree in physics from
Technische Universität Berlin
(TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...
, Germany, with a thesis on the properties of solid state tuneable lasers. In 1992 she joined the Institute of Physics of the University of the Republic's . In 1998 she completed her PhD in sciences with a specialization in physics at
Goethe University Frankfurt
Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...
, from the study of applications in optics of topological phases.
Beginning in 1999 she coordinated a research team focused on the development of optical methods for remote monitoring of the atmosphere at the Institute of Physics, Applied Optics Group of the University of the Republic. She is a Grade 4 Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of the Republic and Grade 4 researcher of the (PEDECIBA). Since 2004 she has been an active member of the National System of Researchers of Uruguay.
[
Frins was president of the Uruguayan Physics Society for two consecutive periods between 2007 and 2011.
In 2012 she won the National L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science, for her project "Métodos ópticos para el estudio de emisiones gaseosas generadas en la operación de centrales térmicas". The project focuses on the development of an optical method for the study of gas emissions in thermal power plants. The technology allows the location of gases that pollute the atmosphere, placing them at specific coordinates.
Frins has carried out numerous research projects in different scientific areas, and has more than 60 publications in scientific media.]
References
External links
Personal page
at the University of the Republic Faculty of Engineering
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frins, Erna
1960 births
Goethe University Frankfurt alumni
Living people
L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates
People from Paysandú
Technische Universität Berlin alumni
Academic staff of the University of the Republic (Uruguay)
Uruguayan physicists
Uruguayan women physicists