Pascale Ehrenfreund

Pascale Ehrenfreund (born 1960 in Vienna) is an Austrian astrophysicist. Ehrenfreund holds degrees from the University of Vienna (Masters, molecular biology; PhD astrophysics, habilitation, astrochemistry) and Webster Leiden (Masters, management and leadership). Prior to becoming a Research Professor of Space Policy and International Affairs at George Washington University, she was a Professor at Radboud University Nijmegen, Leiden University, and University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She was the first woman president of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and in 2015, was elected as CEO of the German Aerospace Center. She is the first woman to lead a major research facility in Germany.[1] The main-belt asteroid 9826 Ehrenfreund is named in her honor.[2]

Pascale Ehrenfreund
Born1960 (age 59–60)
Vienna, Austria
NationalityAustrian
Alma materUniversity of Vienna
University of Paris VII
Webster Leiden
OccupationCEO of the German Aerospace Center
Astrophysicist
Years active1990-present
EmployerLeiden University
University of Amsterdam
George Washington University
Radboud University Nijmegen
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA Astrobiology Institute
Austrian Fund for the Promotion of Scientific Research
German Aerospace Center
Known forAsteroid 9826 Ehrenfreund is named in her honor.

Biography

Pascale Ehrenfreund was born in Vienna, Austria in 1960. She began her university studies at the University of Vienna, where she studied astronomy and biology. She went on to earn a degree in molecular biology at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Salzburg (Austrian Academy of Sciences) in 1988 and then completed her doctorate in astrophysics at the University of Paris VII and the University of Vienna in 1990. Her post-doctorate studies were conducted at the Leiden Observatory as a Fellow of the European Space Agency ESA and later at the Service d'Aeronomie, Verrières-le-Buisson, France, as a Fellow of the French space agency Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES). In 1993 she received the Marie Curie Fellowship by the European Commission. In 1996, she accepted the APART scholarship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences,[3] to prepare her research in astrochemistry for her habilitation Thesis at the University of Vienna.[4] She earned her Habilitation degree on the topic of "Cosmic Dust" in 1999[3] and in 2008 went on to earn a master's degree in Management and Leadership from Webster University in Leiden, Netherlands.[5]

Beginning in 1999, she worked at the Leiden Observatory and was a professor at both the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University in the Netherlands.[3] She was also a professor at Radboud University Nijmegen, in the Netherlands.[6] In 2001, she became the head of the Astrobiology Laboratory at Leiden and participated as the teamleader, co-investigator and principal investigator in numerous experiments and space missions sponsored by both ESA and NASA.[5] In 2005, Pascale Ehrenfreund came to the United States to work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California[3] as distinguished Visiting Scientist. In 2008, she accepted a position as a research professor and policy expert at the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C.[7] and as a senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute. From 2008 - 2012 she was the project scientist of NASA's O/OREOS satellite.[8] Pascale Ehrenfreund has written over 300 scientific research papers, holds an H-index of 63 and published 12 books.[5]

In 2013 she was selected as the first woman to head the Austrian Science Fund (German: Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung) (FWF).[9]

In July 2015, she accepted an offer to become the first woman to lead the German Aerospace Center (German: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.) (DLR).[8]

The main-belt asteroid, 9826 Ehrenfreund was named in her honor.[10]


Awards
  • 2011 NASA Group Achievement Award for the O/OREOS satellite mission
  • 2001 Pastoor-Schmeits Prize for Astronomy
  • 2001 New Impulse Grand, Dutch Government
  • 1999 Asteroid 9826 Ehrenfreund 2114 T-3
  • 1996 APART Prize, Austrian Academy of Science[11]

Active Memberships in Academies and Committees
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See also

References
  1. "First woman to head a major German research facility". DLR – German Aerospace Center. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(9826) Ehrenfreund". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (9826) Ehrenfreund. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 710. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_7715. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. "Astrobiologin Ehrenfreund neue FWF-Chefin" (in German). Vienna, Austria: ORF Science. 7 June 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  4. Foing-Ehrenfreund, Pascale (1999). "Kosmischer Staub" (in German). Vienna, Austria: Österreichischen Bibliothekenverbund. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  5. "Pascale Ehrenfreund". NASA. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  6. "Pascale Ehrenfreund". Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  7. de Selding, Peter B. (18 June 2015). "DLR Picks George Washington Professor To Succeed Woerner". Alexandria, Virginia: Space News. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  8. "FWF-Chefin Ehrenfreund wechselt an Deutsches Raumfahrtzentrum - derstandard.at/2000017680579/FWF-Chefin-Ehrenfreund-wechselt-zum-DLR-nach-Deutschland" (in German). Vienna, Austria: Der Standard. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  9. "Astrobiologin führt künftig den FWF" (in German). Vienna, Austria: Der Standard. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  10. Schmadel 2012, p. 707.
  11. DLR. "Pascale Ehrenfreund - Chair of the DLR Executive Board - Curriculum vitae". DLR Portal. Retrieved 2016-04-13.

Bibliography
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