Susanne E. Aalto (born 28 November 1964) is a Swedish professor of radio astronomy geodesy at the

Onsala Space Observatory Onsala Space Observatory (OSO), the Swedish National Facility for Radio Astronomy, provides scientists with equipment to study the Earth and the rest of the Universe. The observatory operates two radio telescopes in Onsala, 45 km south of Got ...

in the department of Space, Earth and Environment at

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology ( sv, Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international level ...

. She has been a professor of radio astronomy since 2013. Between 1994 and 1999, she completed her post doctoral studies at the Steward Observatory,

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

and at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in the United States. In 1999, Aalto was awarded the Albert Wallin Prize by the Royal Society for Science and Knowledge in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden. She researches the evolution and motion of

galaxies A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...

using radio telescopes and radiation from molecules. In 2023 Susanne was elected as a fellow of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences or ''Kungliga Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademien'' (IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promo ...

Early life

Aalto was born on 28 November 1964 in

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...

, Sweden. In 1994, she became Sweden's first female doctor of radio astronomy with a dissertation on radiation from molecules as a way to study galaxies that form many stars simultaneously (

starburst galaxies A starburst galaxy is one undergoing an exceptionally high rate of star formation, as compared to the long-term average rate of star formation in the galaxy or the star formation rate observed in most other galaxies. For example, the star formatio ...

).Aalto, S., (1994
''Molecular Clouds in Starburst Galaxies''
/ref>

References

Living people 1964 births Chalmers University of Technology alumni Academic staff of the Chalmers University of Technology Women astronomers 21st-century Swedish astronomers Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences {{Sweden-scientist-stub