Conny Aerts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Conny Clara Aerts
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Aerts presenting in 2023
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| Born | 26 January 1966 |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Education | University of Antwerp |
| Alma mater | KU Leuven |
| Awards | Francqui Prize Kavli Prize Crafoord Prize |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | KU Leuven Radboud University |
Conny Clara Aerts, born on January 26, 1966, is a Belgian professor who studies space. She is an astrophysicist. Her special area of study is called asteroseismology, which is like studying "starquakes."
Professor Aerts works at KU Leuven in Belgium and Radboud University in the Netherlands. She leads a group that focuses on asteroseismology. In 2012, she made history by becoming the first woman to win the Francqui Prize in Science & Technology. Later, in 2022, she was awarded the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics for her amazing work in understanding stars.
About Conny Aerts
Conny Aerts was born in Brasschaat, Belgium. She went to the University of Antwerp where she earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mathematics. She also took part in the International Astronomical Youth Camp in 1987 and 1988.
After her studies, she completed her PhD at KU Leuven in 1993. She then spent several months doing research at the University of Delaware. From 1993 to 2001, she was a research fellow. She became a lecturer at KU Leuven in 2001, then an associate professor in 2004, and a full professor in 2007.
How She Studies Stars
Conny Aerts's research focuses on understanding the inside of stars. She does this by studying their "oscillations," which are like tiny vibrations or waves that travel through stars. Think of it like how scientists study earthquakes to learn about Earth's inside.
She uses data from powerful telescopes, both on Earth and in space. For example, she used information from the CoRoT satellite and NASA's Kepler satellite. She is also a main researcher for Belgium on the PLATO mission, another space telescope.
Professor Aerts has created special methods to analyze this star data. This helps her figure out how stars are built and how they change over time, which is called stellar evolution. Thanks to her techniques, she discovered that giant stars don't spin like a solid ball. Instead, different parts of them spin at different speeds. Her methods also help scientists figure out how old stars are with great accuracy.
She has received important grants from the European Research Council (ERC) for her projects. These include PROSPERITY in 2008 and MAMSIE in 2015, both focused on understanding massive stars.
Sharing Science
Conny Aerts is also passionate about sharing science with everyone. She is the Vice-Dean of Communication & Outreach at the Faculty of Science at KU Leuven. This means she helps make sure science is easy to understand and exciting for the public.
She strongly believes that more girls and women should be involved in science. She is part of a group called the International Astronomical Union Women in Astronomy Working Group, which works to support women in this field.
Awards and Honors
Conny Aerts has received many awards for her important work:
- In 2010, she became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.
- In 2011, she was chosen as a Member of the Royal Flemish Academy for Sciences and Arts.
- In 2012, she won the prestigious Francqui Prize.
- In 2016, she was given the title of Commander of the Order of Leopold.
- In 2017, she gave a special lecture at Oxford University called "Starquakes expose stellar heartbeats."
- In 2018, she received the ESA Lodewijk Woltjer Lecture award for her work in asteroseismology.
- In 2019, an asteroid was named in her honor: 413033 Aerts.
- In 2020, she won the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) Excellence Prize in Exact Sciences.
- In 2022, she was awarded the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics.
- In 2024, she received the Crafoord Prize in Astronomy.
See also
In Spanish: Conny Aerts para niños
