Susan McKenna-Lawlor (born 3 March 1935) is an Irish astrophysicist. She is an emeritus professor of experimental physics at

Maynooth University The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

Early life and education

Susan was born in Dublin on 3 March 1935. She studied experimental physics at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. She was a research assistant at the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...

between 1957 and 1966. A lecturer in St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, in 1986 she was appointed a professor in the Dept of Experimental Physics.

Space Technology Ireland Ltd

In 1986 she founded the space instrumentation company Space Technology Ireland Ltd (STIL) with venture capitalist

Dermot Desmond Dermot Desmond (born 14 August 1950) is an Irish businessman and financier. He is estimated to be worth €2.04 billion and is ranked by the ''Sunday Independent'' as the ninth-richest person in Ireland. Early life and education Desmond was b ...

. STIL manufactures instruments for space missions and McKenna-Lawlor is the managing director. It was established on the south campus of St. Patrick's College, Maynooth.

Research and career

McKenna-Lawlor was the principal investigator for the experiment EPA (Energetic Particles) on the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

(ESA)

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

mission. McKenna-Lawlor led an international team of scientists in building a particle detector capable of detecting energies between 30 kiloelectronvolts and several megaelectronvolts for the Soviet Union's Phobos spacecraft in 1988. The success of the detector led Soviet scientists to ask her to contribute a similar device for their 1994 Mars mission. McKenna-Lawlor was Co-Investigator for the experiment RAPID on board the

(ESA)

Cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...

mission. She developed instruments to monitor the solar wind on Mars for the ESA

Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The ''Mars Express'' mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally ref ...

mission. STIL designed the onboard Electrical Support System processor unit for the ''

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...

'' spacecraft. McKenna-Lawlor also represented Ireland on the Steering Board of the Rosetta's

Philae ; ar, فيلة; cop, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ , alternate_name = , image = File:File, Asuán, Egipto, 2022-04-01, DD 93.jpg , alt = , caption = The temple of Isis from Philae at its current location on Agilkia Island in Lake Nasse ...

lander that touched down on comet

67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (abbreviated as 67P or 67P/C–G) is a Jupiter-family comet, originally from the Kuiper belt, with a current orbital period of 6.45 years, a rotation period of approximately 12.4 hours and a maximum velocity of . Chu ...

Awards and recognition

She was a winner of the Rehab People of the Year Award in 1986. She was elected to the

International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established in Stockholm ( Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán, and recognized by the United Nations in 1996. The IAA has electe ...

and in 2005 she received an honorary DSc from the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

for her contributions to astrophysics. She was a member of the National University of Ireland Senate and of Maynooth University's Governing Authority.

Bibliography

* McKenna-Lawlor, S. (1968). ''Astronomy in Ireland from 1780''. Vistas in Astronomy.' * McKenna-Lawlor, S. (2003). ''Whatever Shines Should be Observed''. Springer Netherlands. . Susan McKenna-Lawlor has published or co-authored over 250 scientific papers.

References

External links

McKenna-Lawlor
at Maynooth University {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna-Lawlor, Susan 1935 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Women astrophysicists Experimental physicists Irish astronomers Irish women scientists Women astronomers Academics of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Academics of Maynooth University Scientists from Dublin (city) Women planetary scientists Planetary scientists Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies