Beatriz Barbuy

Beatriz Leonor Silveira Barbuy is a Brazilian astrophysicist. She was described in 2009 by Época magazine as one of the 100 most influential Brazilians.[2] She is a professor at the Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG) at the University of São Paulo, vice-president of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), and one of five winners of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science in 2009.

Beatriz Barbuy
Born (1950-02-16) February 16, 1950[1]
São Paulo, Brasil
Nationality Brazilian
AwardsL'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science
National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil)
Scientific career
FieldsAstrophysics, astronomy, education
InstitutionsUniversity of São Paulo

Career

Barbuy completed undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of São Paulo in the early 1970s.[3] When she considered writing a thesis in astrophysics at the time of the Brazilian military government in the 1970s, it was not possible to do it in Brazil: classmates and faculty at the University of São Paulo were being imprisoned or disappearing.[3]

In 1978, Barbuy moved to France and began her doctoral research in Roger Cayrel's group at the Paris Observatory. Her thesis focused on the elements carbon, nitrogen and oxygen in stars with ages between zero and 12 billion years, in research which allowed reconstruction of the evolution of the quantities of these elements since the formation of the galaxy to the present day.

Between 2001 and 2005, she played an important role in the international program on the formation of the first stars, led by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). This program obtained detailed information about the chemical composition of stars formed more than 10 billion years ago.[3] She was elected president of the stellar division of the International Astronomical Union, and as vice president of that organization.[4]

In 2005 she was awarded the title of Commander of the National Order of Scientific Merit by the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.[5]

In 2009, she was one of five winners of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science, awarded for her work in physics on 5 March at a ceremony at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.[2][6] She subsequently returned to Brazil to take up the post of professor at the University of São Paulo.[3]

Selected publications
  • David Burstein; Yong Li; Kenneth C. Freeman; John E. Norris; Michael S. Bessell; Joss Bland-Hawthorn; Brad K. Gibson; Michael A. Beasley; Hyun-Chul Lee; Beatriz Barbuy; et al. (2004). "Globular Cluster and Galaxy Formation: M31, the Milky Way, and Implications for Globular Cluster Systems of Spiral Galaxies". The Astrophysical Journal. 614 (1): 158–166. arXiv:astro-ph/0406564. Bibcode:2004ApJ...614..158B. doi:10.1086/423334. S2CID 56003193.

References
  1. Dante Grecco (27 January 2004). "Perfil: Gente do céu". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  2. Roger Cayrel (5 December 2009). "Beatriz Barbuy". Época (in Portuguese).
  3. "Beatriz Barbuy: In the wake of the first stars". Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. April 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  4. "Beatriz Barbuy". International Astronomical Union.
  5. "Beatriz Leonor Silveira Barbuy". Brazilian Academy of Sciences.
  6. "IAU Vice-President receives L'ORÉAL–UNESCO award". International Astronomical Union. 5 March 2009.
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