Núria Pilar Calvet Cuni (born 1950) is a Venezuelan astronomer who studies

star formation Star formation is the process by which dense regions within molecular clouds in interstellar space—sometimes referred to as "stellar nurseries" or "star-forming regions"—Jeans instability, collapse and form stars. As a branch of astronomy, sta ...

and the evolution of

protoplanetary disk A protoplanetary disk is a rotating circumstellar disc of dense gas and dust surrounding a young newly formed star, a T Tauri star, or Herbig Ae/Be star. The protoplanetary disk may not be considered an accretion disk; while the two are sim ...

s around young stars. She is Helen Dodson Prince Collegiate Professor of Astronomy at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. She was the first woman to work as a professional astronomer in Venezuela. Nuria Calvet studies the first stages of the life of stars and of the planets around them.

Education and career

Calvet was born in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

in 1950. After study at the

Central University of Venezuela Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, she earned a bachelor's degree from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

in 1973. She continued her studies 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 ...

, earning a master's degree in 1975 and completing her Ph.D. in 1981. Her dissertation was ''Model atmospheres for T Tauri stars''. She worked for the

Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomia The Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía (CIDA) is an institution in Venezuela, founded in honour of Francisco J. Duarte in 1975 for promoting observation, investigation, experimentation, theoretical work, and dissemination of research in the f ...

in Venezuela from 1981 to 1997, becoming vice president of the center. Next, she became an astronomer at the

Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics The Center for Astrophysics , Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), previously known as the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is an astrophysics research institute jointly operated by the Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophy ...

. She moved to her present position at the University of Michigan in 2005.

Recognition

Calvet was a 1979 recipient of the Dorothea Klumpke Roberts Prize, of the Department of Astronomy at the

University of California, Berkley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley ...

, for outstanding achievement in early scientific research career as a graduate student. She was a 1987 recipient of the

Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury Science Prize The Lorenzo Mendoza Fleury Science Prize, also known as the "Premio Fundación Empresas Polar" is the most important award offered by the private sector to contemporary scientists from Venezuela who have shown outstanding talent, creativity and pro ...

, the highest level private-sector science award of Venezuela. She was the first woman to receive this award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvet, Nuria 1950 births Living people Scientists from Caracas Venezuelan emigrants to the United States American astronomers American women astronomers 20th-century Venezuelan scientists Venezuelan women scientists Hispanic and Latino American scientists Hispanic and Latino American women scientists National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Michigan faculty 21st-century Venezuelan scientists 21st-century Venezuelan women scientists