Evangelia (Lia) Athanassoula (born 1948) is a retired Greek astrophysicist known for her numerical simulations of the dynamics and structure of
disc galaxies, and her studies of the fit between theory and observation for these galaxies.
Education and career
Athanassoula is originally from
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, and graduated from the
University of Athens in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in physics. She went to
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for graduate study, earning a Ph.D. there in 1974, and then earned a French
Doctorat d'État
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
at the
University of Franche-Comté
The University of Franche-Comté (UFC) is a pluridisciplinary public French university located in Besançon, Franche-Comté, with decentralized campuses in Belfort, Montbéliard, Vesoul and Lons-le-Saunier.
It is a founding member of the communi ...
in 1978.
After research at the
from 1971 to 1974,
Besançon Astronomical Observatory
The Besançon Astronomical Observatory (french: Observatoire de Besançon ou Observatoire des sciences de l'Univers de Besançon) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS, Nation ...
in 1976 and from 1978 to 1983, and
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 ...
in 1977, in 1983 she joined the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, a joint research laboratory of the
CNRS
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...
National Institute of Sciences of the Universe and of
Aix-Marseille University. She retired in 2016.
Recognition
The
Academy of Athens gave Athanassoula their Fotinos Prize in 2005, and elected her as a corresponding member in 2020. She was the 2011 winner of the
Brouwer Award
The Brouwer Award is awarded annually by the Division on Dynamical Astronomy of the American Astronomical Society for outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of dynamical astronomy. The prize is named for Dirk Brouwer.
Recipients
Source ...
of the
American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...
, which in 2020 elected her as a Legacy Fellow.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athanassoula, Lia
1948 births
Living people
20th-century Greek astronomers
21st-century Greek astronomers
Greek women scientists
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki alumni
University of Franche-Comté alumni
Corresponding Members of the Academy of Athens (modern)
Fellows of the American Astronomical Society
Scientists from Athens