Beatriz Leonor Silveira Barbuy is a Brazilian astrophysicist. She was described in 2009 by '' Época'' magazine as one of the 100 most influential Brazilians. She is a professor at the Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG) at the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

, vice-president of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

(IAU), and one of five winners of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science in 2009.

Career

Barbuy completed undergraduate and master's degrees at the University of São Paulo in the early 1970s. When she considered writing a thesis in astrophysics at the time of the

Brazilian military government The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian dicta ...

in the 1970s, it was not possible to do it in Brazil: classmates and faculty at the University of São Paulo were being imprisoned or disappearing. In 1978, Barbuy moved to France and began her doctoral research in

Roger Cayrel Roger Victor Émile Cayrel (4 December 1925 – 11 January 2021) was a French astronomer. His main interests were stellar atmospheres, galactic chemical evolution and metal-poor stars. Biography Born in Bordeaux, France, he attended the ''Lycée ...

's group at the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histor ...

. Her thesis focused on the elements

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

and

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

in stars with ages between zero and 12 billion years, in research which allowed reconstruction of the evolution of the quantities of these elements since the formation of the galaxy to the present day. Between 2001 and 2005, she played an important role in the international program on the

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

of the first stars, led by the

European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 mem ...

(ESO). This program obtained detailed information about the chemical composition of stars formed more than 10 billion years ago. She was elected president of the stellar division of the International Astronomical Union, and as vice president of that organization. In 2005 she was awarded the title of Commander of the

National Order of Scientific Merit The National Order of Scientific Merit ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Mérito Científico) is an honor bestowed upon Brazilian and foreign personalities recognized for their scientific and technical contributions to the cause and development of science in ...

by the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. In 2009, she was one of five winners of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science, awarded for her work in physics on 5 March at a ceremony at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

headquarters in Paris. She subsequently returned to Brazil to take up the post of professor at the University of São Paulo.

Selected publications

* *Beatriz Barbuy; B.V. Castillo; J. Gregorio-Hetem. (1992)
"A Criterion to Select Li-Rich Giants". ''Physical Processes in Astrophysics''
Proceedings of a Meeting in Honour of Évry Schatzman Held in Paris, France. ISBN 3-540-60259-3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbuy, Beatriz Brazilian astrophysicists Women astronomers Commanders of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates 21st-century women scientists Academic staff of the University of São Paulo University of São Paulo alumni People from São Paulo 1950 births Living people