Doris Daou facts for kids

Doris Daou (born 1964) is a scientist who studies space, known as an astronomer. She was born in Lebanon and later became a Canadian-American citizen. She has worked for NASA for many years, helping people learn about space and exploring our Solar System. She also helps with NASA's "Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration" (SIMPLEx) program.

Early Life and Education

Doris Daou's family moved from Lebanon to Canada when she was a child. This was because of a war happening in Lebanon at the time.

She went to the Université de Montréal in Quebec, Canada. There, she studied physics and mathematics. She also earned a master's degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics. For her PhD in 1989, she studied how different types of stars, called variable stars, behave.

Career at NASA

After finishing her studies, Doris Daou moved to the United States. She worked in Baltimore, Maryland, for nine years on the amazing Hubble Space Telescope. This telescope takes incredible pictures of space.

In 1999, she joined the team getting ready to launch the Spitzer Space Telescope. Here, she focused on education and helping the public learn about space. She even helped start a special program for teachers and students to use the Spitzer Space Telescope for their own research.

Doris Daou joined NASA Headquarters in 2006. She has had many important jobs there. She was the Director of Education and Public Outreach at the NASA Lunar Science Institute. Later, she became the Associate Director of the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI).

She has also helped manage NASA's grant programs. These programs give money to scientists for important research. Since 2014, she has been a Senior Scientist and a Program Officer for the Planetary Science Division at NASA. This division focuses on exploring planets.

Sharing Science with the World

Doris Daou has also worked as a specialist in education and outreach at Ames Research Center. She has been part of the International Astronomical Union, which is a group of astronomers from all over the world. She helped with commissions that focused on how to share astronomy with the public.

She created and produced a popular online show called Ask an Astronomer. In this show, she answers questions about space. Her own research interests include studying stars, planets, and how different countries can work together in space exploration. She often publishes her findings in science journals.

In 2008, Doris Daou helped write a special book called Touch the Invisible Sky. This book was written in Braille, which means it's for people who are blind or have low vision. In 2017, she also helped write about the future of planetary science for the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

See also

In Spanish: Doris Daou para niños