Louise Gray Young facts for kids

Louise Gray Young (born October 4, 1935 – died March 2, 2018) was an American scientist who studied stars and planets. She was a top expert in something called spectroscopy, which is a way to study light to learn about different materials. Louise Young was famous for using this method to study the air (atmospheres) around Earth, Venus, and Mars.

Early Life and Education

Louise Dillon was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 4, 1935. Her parents were Ruth Davis and Frank Dillon. She loved learning and went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). There, she earned two college degrees in engineering, one in 1958 and another in 1959.

She then continued her studies at the California Institute of Technology. She earned her PhD in engineering science. For her PhD, she studied how light and energy move through gases. This knowledge was very important for her later work on planetary atmospheres.

Her Work and Discoveries

In 1965, Louise Young began teaching engineering at UCLA. A couple of years later, in 1967, she moved to the University of Texas at Austin. There, she became a research associate, helping with studies in astronomy.

Later, she worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). JPL is a famous place where scientists build and control spacecraft that explore our solar system. After her time at JPL, Louise Young became a research scientist at Texas A&M University.

Louise Young was a very respected scientist. In 1976, she became a "fellow" of the Optical Society of America. Being a fellow means she was recognized as a leading expert in her field. She was also a member of other important science groups, like the American Astronomical Society, which focuses on space, and the American Meteorological Society, which studies weather and Earth's atmosphere. From 1969 to 1977, she also helped edit a science journal that published research on light and radiation.

Her main work involved using spectroscopy to understand the gases in the atmospheres of planets. By looking at how light passed through or was reflected by these atmospheres, she could figure out what gases were present and how they behaved. This helped scientists learn more about what makes up other planets and how they are different from Earth.

Personal Life

Louise Gray Young was married to Andrew T. Young. They had two children, a son named Gregory and a daughter named Elizabeth. Louise Young passed away in San Diego, California, on March 2, 2018, when she was 82 years old.