Kimmo Albin Innanen (March 12, 1937 – August 3, 2011) was a Canadian astrophysicist of Finnish descent.
Early life and education
Kim grew up in Toronto. His first language was Finnish. He obtained a bachelor's degree in engineering physics with honors from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. In 1960, he received his master's degree in applied mathematics at the
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...
. He completed his doctorate at the University of Toronto in 1964.
Career
In 1966, he joined the Department of Physics (later Physics and Astronomy) at
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
. His research in
celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of objects in outer space. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to ...
,
galactic dynamics, and later in
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
applications and
asteroids
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
, led to the publication of more than 100 papers.
In 1990, with
Seppo Mikkola
Seppo Mikkola (born 1947) is a Finnish astronomer. He is a senior lecturer at the University of Turku and staff member at Tuorla Observatory.
Mikkola is a leading expert in celestial mechanics. He has made fundamental contributions to the theory ...
, he predicted the existence of
Mars Trojans
The Mars trojans are a group of trojan objects that share the orbit of the planet Mars around the Sun. They can be found around the two Lagrangian points 60° ahead of and behind Mars. The origin of the Mars trojans is not well understood. One ...
, confirmed by subsequent discovery and, in 1997, he was involved in the discovery of the Earth's first co-orbital companion asteroid,
3753 Cruithne. He served as the dean of science from 1986 to 1994.
He received an honorary degree from the
University of Turku
sv, Åbo universitet
, latin_name = Universitas Aboensis
, image_name = University of Turku.svg
, motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle''
, established = 1920
, type ...
in 1995.
The asteroid (3497) Innanen was named in his honor in 1992.
See also
*
List of University of Waterloo people
The University of Waterloo, located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, is a comprehensive public university that was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles. It has grown into an institution of more than 42,000 students, faculty, and ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Innanen, Kimmo
1937 births
2011 deaths
Canadian astrophysicists
University of Toronto alumni
University of Waterloo alumni
University of Western Ontario alumni
Canadian people of Finnish descent