Louise Gray Young facts for kids

Louise Gray Young (4 October 1935 - 2 March 2018) was an American astronomer and researcher who specialised in molecular spectroscopy. She is best known for her spectroscopic analysis of the planetary atmospheres of Earth, Venus and Mars.

Early life and education

Louise Dillon was born October 4th, 1935 in Los Angeles, California to Ruth Davis and Frank Dillon. She got both her Bachelors (1958) and Masters (1959) in engineering at University of California, Los Angeles. She got her PhD in engineering science at California Institute of Technology. Her thesis was in the emission and transfer of radiation in gases under the direction of Stanford S. Penner.

Research and career

In 1965, Young started working at the engineering faculty at University of California, Los Angeles. In 1967, she became a research associate in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin. Young then went on to work at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab until 1974. After which, Young became a research scientist at Texas A&M University.

In 1976, Young became a fellow of the Optical Society of America. She was also a member of the American Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union, and American Meteorological Society. Between 1969 and 1977, Young was an Associate Editor of the Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer.

Personal life

Louise Gray Young was married to Andrew T. Young. She had two children, Gregory and Elizabeth. Dr. Louise Gray Young died aged 82 in San Diego, California on March 2nd, 2018.