Véronique Dehant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Véronique Dehant
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Véronique Dehant
|
| Alma mater | Université Catholique de Louvain (BS, MS, PHD) |
| Awards | Descartes Prize (2003) Charles A. Whitten Medal (2016) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions |
|
Véronique Dehant is a scientist from Belgium. She is an expert in two fields: geodesy and geophysics. Geodesy is the science of measuring and understanding Earth's shape, gravity, and rotation. Geophysics studies Earth's physical processes and properties.
Dr. Dehant studies how the inside of Earth changes shape. This happens because of how our planet spins and the pull of gravity from the Sun and Moon. She uses these same ideas to study other planets like Mercury, Venus, and Mars. She also looks at the icy moons orbiting the outer planets. Most of her work is at the Royal Observatory of Belgium. She is also a special professor at the Université Catholique de Louvain.
Contents
About Véronique Dehant
Véronique Dehant was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1959. She studied mathematics and physics at the Université Catholique de Louvain. She earned her bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees there.
Exploring Earth and Space
At first, Dr. Dehant's research focused on understanding how Earth spins in space. This includes tiny wobbles and changes in its tilt, called precession and nutation. She created special computer models that show how Earth's different layers and parts affect its spin. Her work helped create a new, more exact way to measure Earth's rotation.
In 2003, her research group won the Descartes Prize. This award, worth 300,000 Euro, recognized their important work on Earth's rotation.
Dr. Dehant is also part of exciting space missions! She is a co-investigator for two NASA projects on the InSight mission to Mars.
- The RISE (Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment) team uses radio signals to measure Mars's spin and position. This helps them learn about the deep inside of Mars.
- The SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure) project listens to "Marsquakes" to understand the planet's inner layers.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Dehant's amazing work has been recognized around the world.
- In 2003, she received the Vening-Meinesz Medal from the European Geosciences Union. This is a top award in geodesy.
- She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. This means she is a highly respected member of this group of Earth scientists.
- In 2015, she became a foreign member of the French Academy of Sciences.
- In 2016, she received the Charles A. Whitten Medal from the American Geophysical Union. This award is given for "outstanding achievement in research on the form and dynamics of the Earth and planets." It celebrates her excellent work on how Earth and other planets are shaped and move.
Other Awards
- 1988: Charles Lagrange Prize
- 2007: Fellow of the American Geophysical Union
- 2014: Honorary Doctorate, Observatory of Paris
See also
- List of women in leadership positions on astronomical instrumentation projects
