Nour Skaf, doctoral student at the Observatoire de Paris-PSL at the Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique, receives the "L’Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science - Young Talents".
Born in a small village not far from the Haute-Provence observatory, nothing predestined Nour to a career as an astronomer and astrophysicist, except her first name which means "light" in Arabic. Born into a French-Lebanese family, she grew up far from any scientific environment.
It is only at the age of 17, during a trip with her high school to an astronomy center, that she has an appointment with the stars. She then describes an emotional shock marked by humility in front of the beauty of the sky, which she fell in love with. From then on, this passion will never leave her and will be a driving force to overcome the obstacles on her path.
After a scientific baccalaureate, she pursued her education in fundamental physics, then obtained an engineering degree from SupOptique in Saclay which allowed her to focus on the physics and engineering of light and to understand how to build and improve telescopes.
She then took the opportunity to do a gap year and went to Hawaii where she contributed to the development of instrumental tools to observe and analyze exoplanets using the Subaru telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatory.
She then did a second internship at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. There she carried out an astrometry mission on the star Alpha Centauri for the Breakthrough Initiatives foundation. She continued her studies with a Master 2 in astrophysics at Imperial College London.
Optimizing direct imaging of exoplanets
Since September 2019, she is enrolled in a thesis at Paris Observatory-PSL at LESIA and is studying "Self-optimization of adaptive optics (AO) for direct imaging studies of exoplanets". She is doing her research in cotutelle between LESIA and the SCExAO team at Subaru telescope in Hawaii.
Her main objective: is to develop optimization methods for an adaptive optics system that corrects atmospheric turbulence.
She is also studying the Beta Pictoris system in mid-infrared, a key system for understanding
system, which is key to understanding planetary formation because it is composed of at least two planets and a circumstellar disk.
The L’Oréal-UNESCO prize will help him to build a sophisticated coronagraph, which will allow him to link his research projects by combining imaging gain with spectroscopy. In a parallel project, at the beginning of her thesis, she also analyzed the atmospheric composition of 3 exoplanets (hot Jupiters orbiting close to their star) and demonstrated the presence of water vapor.
| 7 laureates within PSL University The "L’Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science - Young Talents" rewards 35 female doctoral and post-doctoral students in France each year, to support their research projects and give them visibility. Within PSL University, seven brilliant young women researchers were selectedfrom among more than 700 other candidates for the excellence of their application, the originality of their scientific project and their desire to transmit their passion to the young. |
Nour is very involved in the dissemination of knowledge and the popularization of science in astronomy and astrophysics, especially among young girls, to strengthen their confidence and attract them to scientific careers. Passionate about photographing the night sky and nature, she also works to alert the general public to the fragility and unique beauty of our planet.
Meet our "L’Oréal-UNESCO" laureates
🔸 Thursday, February 11, 2021, Françoise Combes, Professor at the Collège de France and astrophysicist at the Observatoire de Paris - PSL is one of the five laureates of the L’Oréal-UNESCO Foundation International Prize.
🔸 On Thursday 1er October 2020, Léa Bonnefoy, doctoral student and Lucie Leboulleux, post-doctoral student, both at Observatoire de Paris - PSL each receive one of the 35 "young talents France" prizes from the L’Oréal-UNESCO Foundation.