Imke de Pater is a Dutch astronomer working at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. She is known for her research on the large planets and led the team using the

Keck Telescope The W. M. Keck Observatory is an astronomical observatory with two telescopes at an elevation of 4,145 meters (13,600 ft) near the summit of Mauna Kea in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Both telescopes have aperture primary mirrors, and, when c ...

to image the 1994 impact of the comet

Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 ( formally designated D/1993 F2) was a comet that broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. ...

with Jupiter.

Education and career

De Pater was introduced to astronomy in high school when a family friend gave her an astronomy textbook and introduced her to someone in Utrecht so she could learn about the field. She earned her Ph.D. from

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

(1980) while working on radio emissions from Jupiter. de Pater is a professor of astronomy, earth and planetary science from the University of California, Berkeley, and served as the chair of the Astronomy Department. In 2015 de Pater was named a fellow of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

who cited her for:

Research

De Pater's research centers on observations of the large planets and their rings and satellites (

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

, and

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...

) using

adaptive optics Adaptive optics (AO) is a technique of precisely deforming a mirror in order to compensate for light distortion. It is used in Astronomy, astronomical telescopes and laser communication systems to remove the effects of Astronomical seeing, atmo ...

and radio observations. When the

collided with Jupiter in 1994, she led the campaign to observe the impact using the Keck Telescope and the animations of the impact of the comet are readily available to the general public. Her research on the rearrangement of the rings of Uranus indicated they are a dynamic feature of the planet and she revealed the presence of new dust belts surrounding Uranus.

Selected publications

* * * * * * * *

Awards and honors

* C.J. Kok Jury award,

Universiteit Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

(1980) * John Howard Dellinger Gold Medal,

International Union of Radio Science The International Union of Radio Science (abbreviated ''URSI'', after its French name, ) is one of 26 international scientific unions affiliated to the International Council for Science (ICSU). History and objectives URSI was officially cr ...

(USRI) (1984) * Sloan Fellowship (1985) * Chambliss Award for Writing for ''Planetary Astrophysics'',

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

(2007) * Fellow,

(2015) * Oort lecture, Jan Hendrik Oort Foundation and Leiden Observatory (2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Pater, Imke Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Leiden University alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty Women space scientists Planetary scientists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people