Pierre Kaufmann (1938 – 17 February 2017) was a French physicist and astronomer. He worked at Mackenzie University, Unicamp, and USP, and founded research into radio astronomy and solar physics in Brazil.
Pierre Kaufmann | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1938  Aix-en-Provence |
| Died | 17 February 2017 (aged 78–79) São Paulo |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | |
| Academic career | |
| Institutions | |
Career
editHe studied physics at Mackenzie Presbyterian University,[1] starting in 1957,[2] and graduating in 1961,[3] before going to Leiden University and Groningen University.[1]
He was the principal researcher of the Solar Submillimeter Telescope and Solar-T, and started the Atmospheric Science program at the Brazilian Antarctic Program. He founded research into radio astronomy, spatial geodesy, and solar physics in Brazil.[1] He helped install the first radio telescope in Brazil in 1962,[2] at the Professor Aristóteles Orsini Planetarium, but the antenna was subsequently destroyed by cows. He was funded by FAPESP is its first year of operation, to work on radio star scintillation.[3] He also helped construct radio telescopes in Campos do Jordão and at Itapetinga Radio Observatory.[3]
He was a professor at the Mackenzie Presbyterian University[1] since 1998,[4] where he was coordinator for the Center for Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics,[3] and a senior researcher at the Centre for Semiconductor Components (Portuguese: Centro de Componentes Semicondutores)[1] at UNICAMP, as well as an associate professor at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo. He published over 200 papers, and supervised 17 Masters students, 7 PhD students, and 8 postdocs.[3]
He was also the president of the URSI Brazilian National Committee between 1989 and 2009.[1] He was a member of the IAU,[5] COSPAR,[1] the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (since 1987),[4] and the Brazilian Astronomical Society.[3] He was an associate member of the Royal Astronomical Society.[4]
Personal life
editKaufman was born in 1938.[5] He grew up on a farm in Aix-en-Provence, south France,[2] and became interested in astronomy as a child.[3] His family moved to Brazil in 1941, fleeing World War II.[2] He joined the Association of Amateur Astronomers as a teenager, in 1954.[3] He had a brother.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "Academia Brasileira de Ciências" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Academia Brasileira De Ciencias. 21 February 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Como ouvir as estrelas". revistapesquisa.fapesp.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Morre Pierre Kaufmann, um dos precursores da rádio astronomia no país". revistapesquisa.fapesp.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Academia Brasileira de Ciências". 21 February 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ a b "International Astronomical Union | IAU". www.iau.org. Retrieved 7 August 2021.