Helen Dodson Prince (December 31, 1905 – February 4, 2002) was an American

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

who pioneered work in

solar flare A solar flare is an intense localized eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and other sol ...

s at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Early life and education

Helen Prince (née Dodson) was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

on December 31, 1905, to Helen Walter and Henry Clay Dodson. Being skilled in both

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and mathematics, Prince received a full scholarship to study mathematics at

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

, where she received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1927. During her undergraduate studies, she was influenced by professor Florence P. Lewis to study astronomy. Prince continued onto graduate school at the

, where she received her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1932 and her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1934, both in astronomy. Prince's doctoral thesis was entitled "A Study of the Spectrum of

25 Orionis 25 Orionis, less commonly known by its Bayer designation Psi1 Orionis (ψ1 Orionis, ψ1 Ori) is a fifth-magnitude star in the constellation Orion (constellation), Orion. It lies among a dense star cluster, cluster of low-mass pre-main-se ...

Career and achievements

Prince served as an assistant professor of astronomy at Wellesley College from 1933 to 1945. Prince spent the summers of 1934 and 1935, at the

Maria Mitchell Observatory The Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA, was founded in 1908 and named in honor of Maria Mitchell, the first American woman astronomer. It is a major component of the Maria Mitchell Association. The Observatory actually c ...

, where she continued to study the spectroscopy of 25 Orionis. Her findings would later be published in

the Astrophysical Journal ''The Astrophysical Journal'', often abbreviated ''ApJ'' (pronounced "ap jay") in references and speech, is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of astrophysics and astronomy, established in 1895 by American astronomers George Ellery Hale and ...

. During the summers of 1938 and 1939, Prince's interest in solar activity became prominent while researching it at the Paris Observatory. Between 1943 and 1945, Prince worked at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

's Radiation Laboratory, where she made significant contributions to the study of

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she returned to Goucher College, where she was an astronomy professor from 1945 to 1950. Prince began her research at the

McMath–Hulbert Observatory The McMath-Hulbert Solar Observatory is a solar observatory in Lake Angelus, Michigan, USA. It was established in 1929 as a private observatory by father and son Francis Charles McMath and Robert Raynolds McMath and their friend, Judge Henry Hu ...

in 1947 and eventually left MIT to become its associate director as well as to be an astronomy professor in Michigan. Upon retiring from the University of Michigan in 1976, Helen Dodson Prince continued her work until 1979 at the observatory as a professor emerita. Even then, from 1979 to the year of her death in 2002, Prince remained an independent consultant for the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. Her memberships included being a fellow of the American Astronomical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Geophysical Union. Dodson held the Dean Van Meter fellowship from Goucher in 1932 and received the Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy in 1954. In 1974, Dodson received the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award from the University of Michigan. Throughout her career, Dodson published over 130 journal articles, many co-authored by

E. Ruth Hedeman Emma Ruth Hedeman (1910 – 2006) was an American solar astronomer at McMath–Hulbert Observatory, McMath-Hulbert Solar Observatory in Lake Angelus, Michigan, Michigan. Biography Known as Ruth, she was born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 2 ...

, and mostly on solar flares. Among her students at Goucher were astronomers Nan Dieter-Conklin and Harriet H. Malitson.

Awards and honors

* Dean Van Meter Fellowship, Goucher College (1932) * Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy (1955) * Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award from the University of Michigan (1974) * Asteroid 71669 Dodsonprince, discovered by astronomers with the

Catalina Sky Survey Catalina Sky Survey (CSS; obs. code: 703) is an astronomical survey to discover comets and asteroids. It is conducted at the Steward Observatory's Catalina Station, located near Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. CSS focuses on the search ...

in 2000, was named in her honor. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 8 November 2019 ().

Selected publications

Articles

* Dodson, Helen W., and E. Ruth Hedeman. "Major Hα flares in centers of activity with very small or no spots." ''Solar Physics'' 13.2 (1970): 401–419. * Dodson, Helen W.,

, and Marta Rovira de Miceli. 1972. NOAA. ''Reevaluation of solar flares,'' (1967). http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo60763. * Dodson, Helen Walter, and E. Ruth Hedeman. "Problems of differentiation of flares with respect to geophysical effects." (1964). * Dodson, Helen W., and E. Ruth Hedeman. "The proton flare of August 28, 1966." ''Solar Physics'' 4.2 (1968): 229–239. * Dodson, Helen W., E. Ruth Hedeman, and A. E. Covington. "Solar Flares and Associated 2800 Mc/sec (10.7 Cm) Radiation." ''The Astrophysical Journal'' 119 (1954): 541. * Dodson, Helen W., and E. Ruth Hedeman. "Geomagnetic disturbances associated with solar flares with major premaximum bursts at radio frequencies 200 MC/S." ''Journal of Geophysical Research'' 63.1 (1958): 77–96. * Dodson, Helen W., and E. Ruth Hedeman. "Geomagnetic disturbances associated with solar flares with major premaximum bursts at radio frequencies 200 MC/S." ''Journal of Geophysical Research'' 63.1 (1958): 77–96. * Dodson, Helen W., E. Ruth Hedeman, and Leif Owren. "Solar Flares and Associated 200 Mc/sec Radiation." ''The Astrophysical Journal'' 118 (1953): 169. * Dodson, Helen W., and E. Ruth Hedeman. "The Frequency and Positions of Flares Within Three Active Sunspot Areas." ''The Astrophysical Journal'' 110 (1949): 242.

Book

* ''An experimental comprehensive flare index and its derivation for" Major" flares, 1955-1969''. Vol. 14., compiled by Helen W. Dodson and E. Ruth Hedeman; prepared by Research Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Data Service. 1971.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Helen Dodson 1905 births 2002 deaths American women astronomers Scientists from Baltimore University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan faculty Goucher College alumni Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American scientists American women academics