Imke de Pater

Imke de Pater is a Dutch astronomer working at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her research on the large planets and led the team using the Keck Telescope to image the 1994 impact of the comet Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with Jupiter.

Imke de Pater
Alma mater	Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden (Leiden University)
Scientific career
Institutions	University of California, Berkeley
Thesis	Observations and models of the decimetric radio emission from Jupiter (1980)

Education and career

De Pater was introduced to astronomy in high school when a family friend gave her an astronomy textbook and introduced her to someone in Utrecht so she could learn about the field.^[1] She earned her Ph.D. from Leiden University (1980) while working on radio emissions from Jupiter.^[2] de Pater is a professor of astronomy, earth and planetary science from the University of California, Berkeley, and served as the chair of the Astronomy Department.^[3]

In 2015 year, De Pater was named a fellow of the American Geophysical Union who cited her for:^[4]

far-seeing discoveries and cutting-edge visions of the dynamic outer solar system made from Earth at nearly every wavelength of light

Research

De Pater's research centers on observations of the large planets and their rings and satellites (Jupiter,^[5][6] Neptune,^[7] Titan,^[8] and Uranus^[9]) using adaptive optics and radio observations. When the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 collided with Jupiter in 1994, she led the campaign to observe the impact using the Keck Telescope^{[10][11][12][13]} and the animations of the impact of the comet are readily available to the general public.^[14] Her research on the rearrangement of the rings of Uranus indicated they are dynamic feature of the planet^[15][16][17] and she revealed the presence of new dust belts surrounding Uranus.^[18]

 

The rings of Uranus are shown here captured almost exactly edge-on to Earth. The observations were done by Daphne Stam (TU Delft) and Markus Hartung (ESO, Chile), in close collaboration with Mark Showalter (SETI) and Imke de Pater (UC Berkeley and TU Delft).

Selected publications

• de Pater, Imke; Lissauer, Jack J. (2015). Planetary Sciences. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316195697.
• de Pater, Imke; Lissauer, Jack J. (16 September 2013). Fundamental Planetary Science: Physics, Chemistry and Habitability. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521853309.
• de Pater, I.; Hammel, H. B.; Showalter, M. R.; van Dam, M. A. (28 September 2007). "The Dark Side of the Rings of Uranus". Science. 317 (5846): 1888–1890. Bibcode:2007Sci...317.1888D. doi:10.1126/science.1148103. PMID 17717152. S2CID 23875293.
• de Pater, Imke; Massie, Steven T. (1 April 1985). "Models of the millimeter-centimeter spectra of the giant planets". Icarus. 62 (1): 143–171. Bibcode:1985Icar...62..143D. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(85)90177-0. ISSN 0019-1035.
• Mitchell, David L.; de Pater, Imke (1 July 1994). "Microwave Imaging of Mercury's Thermal Emission at Wavelengths from 0.3 to 20.5 cm". Icarus. 110 (1): 2–32. Bibcode:1994Icar..110....2M. doi:10.1006/icar.1994.1105. ISSN 0019-1035.
• de Pater, I; Heiles, C; Wong, M; Maddalena, R.; Bird, M.; Funke, O; Neidhoefer, J; Price, R.; Kesteven, M; Calabretta, M; Klein, M.; Gulkis, S; Bolton, S.; Foster, R.; Sukumar, S; Strom, R.; LePoole, R.; Spoelstra, T; Robison, M; Hunstead, R.; Campbell-Wilson, D; Ye, T; Dulk, G; Leblanc, Y; Lecacheux, A; et, A. (30 June 1995). "Outburst of Jupiter's synchrotron radiation after the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9". Science. 268 (5219): 1879–1883. Bibcode:1995Sci...268.1879D. doi:10.1126/science.11536723. PMID 11536723.
• de Pater, Imke; Romani, Paul N.; Atreya, Sushil K. (1 June 1991). "Possible microwave absorption by H2S gas in Uranus' and Neptune's atmospheres". Icarus. 91 (2): 220–233. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(91)90020-T. hdl:2027.42/29299. ISSN 0019-1035.
• de Pater, Imke; Kurth, William S. (1 January 2007). "Chapter 38 - The Solar System at Radio Wavelengths". Encyclopedia of the Solar System (2nd ed.). pp. 695–718. doi:10.1016/B978-012088589-3/50042-6. ISBN 9780120885893.

Awards and honors

• C.J. Kok Jury award, Universiteit Leiden (1980)^[19]
• John Howard Dellinger Gold Medal, International Union of Radio Science (USRI) (1984)^[20]
• Sloan Fellowship (1985)^[21]
• Chambliss Award for Writing for Planetary Astrophysics,^[22] American Astronomical Society (2007)^[23]
• Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2015)^[24]
• Oort lecture, Jan Hendrik Oort Foundation and Leiden Observatory (2007)^[25]

References

1. "W.M. Keck Observatory Annual Report" (PDF). Keck Observatory. 2007. p. 10.
2. OCLC 6955828
3. "Eastbay Astronomical Society | EAS Awards Dinner and Honored Speaker | Night Sky Network". nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
4. "de Pater". Honors Program. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
5. Staff, Aishwarya Kaimal | (2019-08-27). "UC Berkeley study finds ammonia plumes changing Jupiter's atmosphere". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
6. "Researchers just measured Jupiter's stratospheric winds for the first time—and they're a doozy". Popular Science. 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
7. "SCIENCE WATCH; Neptune's Magnetism". The New York Times. 1988-08-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
8. "The first global map of Titan reveals Earth-like features with a peculiar twist". Popular Science. 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
9. Fountain, Henry (2006-04-11). "Measuring for Liftoff (That First Flight Is Crucial)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
10. "03.08.95 - Keck's Comet 'Video' Most Detailed". www.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
11. de Pater, I; Heiles, C; Wong, M; Maddalena, R.; Bird, M.; Funke, O; Neidhoefer, J; Price, R.; Kesteven, M; Calabretta, M; Klein, M.; Gulkis, S; Bolton, S.; Foster, R.; Sukumar, S; Strom, R.; LePoole, R.; Spoelstra, T; Robison, M; Hunstead, R.; Campbell-Wilson, D; Ye, T; Dulk, G; Leblanc, Y; Lecacheux, A; et, A. (30 June 1995). "Outburst of Jupiter's synchrotron radiation after the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9". Science. 268 (5219): 1879–1883. Bibcode:1995Sci...268.1879D. doi:10.1126/science.11536723. PMID 11536723.
12. Browne, Malcolm W. (1994-07-12). "Astronomers Prepare for Comet's Collision With Jupiter". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
13. Browne, Malcolm W. (1994-07-22). "4 Blasts Start the End of Jupiter Fireworks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
14. "Fragment A Collision Animation". www2.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
15. Minkel, J. R. (August 23, 2007). "Dark Side of Uranus' Rings Reveals Dramatic Changes". Scientific American.
16. de Pater, I.; Hammel, H. B.; Showalter, M. R.; van Dam, M. A. (28 September 2007). "The Dark Side of the Rings of Uranus". Science. 317 (5846): 1888–1890. Bibcode:2007Sci...317.1888D. doi:10.1126/science.1148103. PMID 17717152. S2CID 23875293.
17. "Science podcast". Science Podcasts (Podcast). American Association for the Advancement of Science. August 24, 2007. Event occurs at 11:22. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
18. de Pater, Imke; Hammel, Heidi B.; Gibbard, Seran G.; Showalter, Mark R. (7 April 2006). "New Dust Belts of Uranus: One Ring, Two Ring, Red Ring, Blue Ring". Science. 312 (5770): 92–94. Bibcode:2006Sci...312...92D. doi:10.1126/science.1125110. ISSN 0036-8075. OSTI 957162. PMID 16601188. S2CID 32250745.
19. "C.J. Jok Jury Award - All winners since 1971". www.universiteitleiden.nl. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
20. "URSI Awards". www.ursi.org. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
21. "90 SCIENTISTS AND ECONOMISTS WIN SLOAN RESEARCH AWARDS". The New York Times. 1985-03-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
22. de Pater, Imke; Lissauer, Jack J. (2015). Planetary Sciences. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316195697.
23. "Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award | American Astronomical Society". aas.org. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
24. "de Pater". Honors Program. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
25. "Oort Lecture 2017: What wonderful worlds: A journey through our Solar System". Leiden University. May 2017. Retrieved 2021-07-23.