Helen Dodson Prince facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helen Dodson Prince
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | December 31, 1905 |
| Died | February 4, 2002 (aged 96) |
| Alma mater | Goucher College (BA) University of Michigan (PhD) |
| Known for | Solar flares |
| Awards | Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy (1955) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | University of Michigan |
| Doctoral advisor | Heber Doust Curtis |
Helen Dodson Prince (December 31, 1905 – February 4, 2002) was an American astronomer. She did important new work on solar flares at the University of Michigan.
Early Life and Education
Helen Prince was born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 31, 1905. Her parents were Helen Walter and Henry Clay Dodson. Helen was very good at both physics and mathematics.
She earned a full scholarship to study math at Goucher College. In 1927, she received her first degree, a Bachelor of Arts. During college, her professor Florence P. Lewis encouraged her to study astronomy.
Helen continued her studies at the University of Michigan. She earned her master's degree in 1932. In 1934, she received her Ph.D., which is the highest university degree. Her Ph.D. was also in astronomy. For her Ph.D. project, she studied the light from a star called 25 Orionis.
A Career Studying the Sun
Helen Prince became an assistant professor of astronomy at Wellesley College. She taught there from 1933 to 1945. During the summers of 1934 and 1935, she worked at the Maria Mitchell Observatory. She continued to study the light from 25 Orionis. Her discoveries were later published in a science journal.
In 1938 and 1939, Helen became very interested in the Sun. She researched solar activity at the Paris Observatory. From 1943 to 1945, she worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, she helped with important studies about radar.
After World War II, Helen returned to Goucher College. She was an astronomy professor there from 1945 to 1950. In 1947, she started her research at the McMath–Hulbert Observatory. She later became its associate director. She also became an astronomy professor at the University of Michigan.
Helen Dodson Prince retired from the University of Michigan in 1976. But she kept working at the observatory until 1979. Even after that, she worked as a consultant for Johns Hopkins University. This continued until she passed away in 2002.
Throughout her career, Helen published over 130 articles in science journals. Many of these were with her co-author, E. Ruth Hedeman. Most of her articles were about solar flares. Solar flares are sudden, powerful bursts of energy from the Sun. Some of her students at Goucher College also became famous astronomers.
Awards and Honors
Helen Dodson Prince received several important awards for her work:
- Dean Van Meter Fellowship, Goucher College (1932)
- Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy (1955)
- Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award from the University of Michigan (1974)
In 2019, an Asteroid was named in her honor. It is called 71669 Dodsonprince. This asteroid was found by astronomers in 2000.
See also
In Spanish: Helen Dodson Prince para niños
