Elsa van Dien | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 July 1914 |
| Died | 15 October 2007(2007-10-15) (aged 93) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Other names | Elsa van Albada-van Dien |
| Alma mater | University of Amsterdam,Radcliffe College |
| Occupation | astronomer |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics,Variable Stars |
| Institutions | University of Amsterdam,Harvard,Dominion Astrophysical Observatory,Bosscha Observatory |
| Doctoral advisor | Donald Howard Menzel |
Elsa van Dien (12 July 1914 – 15 October 2007)[1] was an astronomer. She received her Ph.D. fromHarvard University. She marriedGale Bruno van Albada who was also an astronomer.
Elsa van Dien was born inParamaribo (Surinam) on 12 July 1914. She was the daughter of Rebecca da Silva and Gerrit van Dien. The family moved to theNetherlands in 1923. Van Dien began studying astronomy at theUniversity of Amsterdam in 1932. She also registered at theUniversity of Leiden (The Netherlands) in 1935, to have access to its observatory.[2] She was later encouraged to obtain her doctorate atHarvard University.[1]
After her studies, Van Dien started to teach at the Gemeentelijk Lyceum inZaandam. On 21 November 1940, she was fired for being Jewish.[1] When the deportations started, she went into hiding at reverend J.C.S. Locher inLeiden, and managed to survive the war.[1]
Van Dien was awarded a scholarship byRadcliffe College for September 1939, but due to theSecond World War she could only commence her PhD there in September 1945, also with support of theAmerican Association of University Women (AAUW). Her thesis, supervised byDonald Menzel, discussed theStark effect in theBalmer lines ofearly type stars.[3]
After her PhD, she initially stayed at theDominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, Canada. In 1948 she moved back to the Netherlands. In August 1948 she was appointed at theBosscha Observatory near Bandung, Indonesia; where she aided in the rehabilitation of the Observatory, along with the creation of their Schmidt telescope. The Observatory suffered serious damage in the aftermath of amilitary occupation.[4] There she met and marriedGale Bruno van Albada, who took interest in the telescope project. She continued her astronomical research until 1958, when the family returned to the Netherlands. She edited the Dutch journalWetenschap en Samenleving from 1965 to 1972.[5] In the 1970s and 1980, after the death of Van Albada in 1972, she once again resumed her astronomical research.[6]
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