Merieme Chadid (; born 11 October 1969 in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

) is a Moroccan- French

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

and astrophysicist. She leads international polar scientific programs and has been committed to installing a major astronomical observatory at the heart of Antarctica.

Education and early life

Chadid was born October 11, 1969, in

to a Moroccan family. Her father and mother were a blacksmith and a housewife respectively. She was one of seven children. At 12 years old, she discovered her love of

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

from a

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

book gifted to her by her brother. In 1992, Chadid graduated from the University of Hassan II Casablanca with a master's degree in Physics and Mathematics. In 1993, she graduated from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis with a

Master of Advanced Studies A Master of Advanced Studies (MASt or MAS), or Master of Advanced Study, is a postgraduate degree awarded in various countries. Master of Advanced Studies programs may be non-consecutive programs tailored for "specific groups of working professio ...

and three years later earned her PhD in

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

from the

Paul Sabatier University Paul Sabatier University (''Université Paul Sabatier'' , UPS, also known as Toulouse III) was a French university, in the Academy of Toulouse. It was one of the several successor universities of the University of Toulouse, established in 1229, m ...

from her research detecting hypersonic shock waves in pulsating stars and explaining their origin. She also obtained the highest university qualification degree

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

HDR, a second PhD, at the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis. Chadid completed several executive education programs at John F. Kennedy School of Government,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

as well.

Career

Merieme Chadid joined the

Centre national de la recherche scientifique The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

and then the

European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 m ...

soon after earning her PhD. She worked on

for the installation of The

Very Large Telescope The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is an astronomical facility operated since 1998 by the European Southern Observatory, located on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each equipped with ...

, the largest telescope in the world at the time, in the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. Stretching over a strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of , which increases to if the barre ...

in northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. She works as an astronomer in the French public university system. Chadid has been Vice President of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

since 2021, Division G, Stars and Stellar Physics, and a steering committee member of the

. Chadid became the first Moroccan as well as the first female French astronomer to reach the heart of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, and the first to plant an Arab and an African flag (the Moroccan flag) in Antarctica in 2005 when she achieved her first polar expedition to set up a new

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

. Of her many achievements, her most treasured accomplishment has been her work under extreme conditions in the heart of Antarctica, one of the highest, coldest, most deserted and inaccessible places in the world. She is considered the world's first astronomer to be committed to installing the large astronomical observatory in Antarctica, where she has carried out pioneering work. In interviews, she has compared the installation of the observatory to a space mission, an area characterized by only a thin layer of

turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers with no disruption between ...

, making it easier to observe faraway objects than observatories in other parts of the world. As night continues for several months of the year, researchers at the Antarctica stations have the advantage of being able to study the stars 24/7. Chadid promotes education by giving lectures, attending conferences, supervising students, and her documentary on astronomy, ''Tarik Annujah'', has played on the

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

Children's Channel. Her most published research aims to understand and decipher early star formation and the stellar evolution and pulsation towards of understanding of the Universe. She was listed by

Forbes magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...

as one of the thirty most interesting and fascinating workers in the world.

Personal life

Merieme Chadid has been married to Jean Vernin, Director of Research of Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, since 31 March 2001; they have two children.

Major achievements

* Young Global Leader at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

(2008) * Arab Woman of the Year Award for Achievement in Science by

Regent's University London Regent's University London (formerly Regent's College) is a private university located in London, England. It is part of Galileo Global Education, Europe’s largest higher education provider. Regent's University London was established in 1984 ...

(2015) (first group to be recognized) * Officer of the

Order of Ouissam Alaouite The Order of Ouissam Alaouite () or the Sharifian Order of Al-Alaoui is a military decoration of Morocco which is bestowed by the King of Morocco upon those civilians and military officers who have displayed heroism in combat or have contribute ...

bestowed by His Majesty The

King of Morocco The king of Morocco (; ) is the monarch and head of state of Morocco. The kings of Morocco are members of the Alawi dynasty. It is one of the country's most powerful offices. Mohammed VI ( Sidi Mohammed bin Hassan al-Alawi) is the current kin ...

in 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chadid, Merieme 1969 births Women astronomers Moroccan physicists Moroccan explorers French explorers People from Casablanca Living people French astronomers Moroccan astronomers Female explorers Antarctic scientists French scientists French Antarctic scientists Women Antarctic scientists 21st-century French women scientists University of Hassan II Casablanca alumni Côte d'Azur University alumni Paul Sabatier University alumni 21st-century Moroccan scientists 21st-century Moroccan women scientists

Education and early life

Career

Personal life

Major achievements

See also

References