Jane Lưu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 1963 (age 62) Saigon, Vietnam |
| Alma mater | Stanford University,University of California, Berkeley,Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Known for | Discovery of theKuiper belt |
| Spouse | Ronnie Hoogerwerf |
| Awards | Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy (1991) Shaw Prize (2012) Kavli Prize (2012) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy, Astrophysics, Engineering |
| Institutions | Harvard University,Lincoln Laboratory atMIT,Tufts University,University of Oslo |
| Thesis | Physical Studies of Primitive Solar System Bodies (1992[1]) |
| Doctoral advisor | David C. Jewitt |
| 10370 Hylonome[A] | February 27, 1995 |
| 15760 Albion[A] | August 20, 1992 |
| (15809) 1994 JS[A] | May 11, 1994 |
| (15836) 1995 DA2[A] | February 24, 1995 |
| (15874) 1996 TL66[A][B][C] | October 9, 1996 |
| (15875) 1996 TP66[A][C] | October 11, 1996 |
| (19308) 1996 TO66[A][C] | October 12, 1996 |
| (20161) 1996 TR66[A][B][C] | October 8, 1996 |
| (24952) 1997 QJ4[A][C][D] | August 28, 1997 |
| (24978) 1998 HJ151[A][C][E] | April 28, 1998 |
| (26375) 1999 DE9[C] | February 20, 1999 |
| (33001) 1997 CU29[A][B][C] | February 6, 1997 |
| (59358) 1999 CL158[A][C] | February 11, 1999 |
| (60608) 2000 EE173[C][F] | March 3, 2000 |
| 66652 Borasisi[A][C] | September 8, 1999 |
| 79360 Sila–Nunam[A][B][C] | February 3, 1997 |
| (79969) 1999 CP133[A][C] | February 11, 1999 |
| (79978) 1999 CC158[A][C][G] | February 15, 1999 |
| (79983) 1999 DF9[A][C] | February 20, 1999 |
| (91554) 1999 RZ215[A][C] | September 8, 1999 |
| (118228) 1996 TQ66[A][B][C] | October 8, 1996 |
| (129746) 1999 CE119[A][C] | February 10, 1999 |
| (134568) 1999 RH215[A][C] | September 7, 1999 |
| (137294) 1999 RE215[A][C] | September 7, 1999 |
| (137295) 1999 RB216[A][C] | September 8, 1999 |
| (148112) 1999 RA216[A][C] | September 8, 1999 |
| (181708) 1993 FW[A] | March 28, 1993 |
| (181867) 1999 CV118[A][C] | February 10, 1999 |
| (181868) 1999 CG119[A][C] | February 11, 1999 |
| (181871) 1999 CO153[A][C] | February 12, 1999 |
| (181902) 1999 RD215[A][C] | September 6, 1999 |
| (385185) 1993 RO[A] | September 14, 1993 |
| (385201) 1999 RN215[A][C] | September 7, 1999 |
| (415720) 1999 RU215[A][C] | September 7, 1999 |
| (469306) 1999 CD158[A][C] | February 10, 1999 |
| (503858) 1998 HQ151[A][C][E] | April 28, 1998 |
| (508770) 1995 WY2[A] | 18 November 1995 |
| Legend to co-discoverers: | |
|---|---|
Jane X. Luu (Vietnamese:Lưu Lệ Hằng;[3] born July 1963) is aVietnamese-Americanastronomer and defense systems engineer. She was awarded theKavli Prize (shared withDavid C. Jewitt andMichael Brown) for 2012 "for discovering and characterizing theKuiper Belt and its largest members, work that led to a major advance in the understanding of the history of our planetary system".
Luu immigrated to the United States as a refugee in 1975, when the South Vietnamese government during thefall of Saigone. She and her family lived in refugee camps and motels before they settled in Kentucky, where she had relatives. She graduated from high school asvaledictorian and then earned a scholarship toStanford University, receiving her bachelor's degree in physics in 1984.[4][5] Working at theJet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA after college inspired her to study astronomy.[5]
As a graduate student at theUniversity of California, Berkeley[6] and theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, she looked at links between asteroids and comets for her main PhD project.[7] She also worked withDavid C. Jewitt to discover theKuiper Belt,[8] an area previously believed to contain no objects. In 1992, after five years of observation, they found the first knownKuiper Belt object other thanPluto and its largest moonCharon, using theUniversity of Hawaiʻi's 2.2 meter telescope onMauna Kea.[9][10][11] This object is15760 Albion, which she and Jewitt nicknamed "Smiley".[4] TheAmerican Astronomical Society awarded Luu theAnnie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy in 1991. In 1992, Luu received a Hubble Fellowship from theSpace Telescope Science Institute and chose theUniversity of California, Berkeley as a host institution. The Phocaea main-belt asteroid5430 Luu is named in her honor.[12][13] She received her PhD in 1992 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After receiving her doctorate, Luu worked as an assistant professor atHarvard University, since 1994.[4] Luu also served as a professor atLeiden University in the Netherlands.[8] Following her time in Europe, Luu returned to the United States and worked on instrumentation as a Senior Scientist atLincoln Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, focusing on defense-industry projects, specifically lidar systems.
In December 2004, Luu and Jewitt reported the discovery of crystalline water ice onQuaoar, which was at the time the largest known Kuiper Belt object. They also found indications of ammonia hydrate. Their report theorized that the ice likely formed underground, becoming exposed after a collision with another Kuiper Belt object sometime in the last few million years.[14]
In 2012, she won (along withDavid C. Jewitt of theUniversity of California, Los Angeles) theShaw Prize "for their discovery and characterization of trans-Neptunian bodies, an archeological treasure dating back to the formation of the solar system and the long-sought source of short period comets"[15] and theKavli Prize (shared with Jewitt andMichael E. Brown) "for discovering and characterizing the Kuiper Belt and its largest members, work that led to a major advance in the understanding of the history of our planetary system".[16]
Luu enjoys traveling, and has worked forSave the Children in Nepal.[17] She enjoys a variety of outdoor activities and plays the cello. She met her husband,Ronnie Hoogerwerf, who is also an astronomer, while working in the Netherlands in a tenured position atLeiden University.[8] They have one child together.
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