Susan Niebur (1973–2012) was an American planetary scientist, promoter of women in science, and mommyblogger.[1][2]

Life

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Nieber graduated in 1995 from Georgia Tech with a bachelor's degree in physics.[3] She earned a Ph.D. in 2001 at Washington University in St. Louis, joined NASA as an intern in 2001, and became a scientist in the NASA Discovery Program in 2003. She left NASA to become a consultant in 2006.[1]

She was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in 2007,[4] and died of it on February 6, 2012.[5]

Contributions

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While still a student, Niebur founded the Forum on Graduate Student Affairs of the American Physical Society and the National Doctoral Program Survey, and was president of the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students. At NASA, she founded the Early Career Fellowships and Workshops for Planetary Scientists. She began her "Women in Planetary Science" blog in 2008,[1] and also wrote a widely-read mommyblog, "Toddler Planet".[5][6]

Recognition

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Niebur was given the Masursky Award of the American Astronomical Society, for outstanding service to planetary science and exploration, posthumously in 2012.[7]

Asteroid 113394 Niebur is named for Niebur.[8] An annual meeting for women in planetary science, the Susan Niebur Women in Planetary Science Networking Event, is also named after her.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Susan Niebur 1973–2012, American Astronomical Society
  2. ^ Lakdawalla, Emily (February 8, 2012), In memory of Susan Niebur, The Planetary Society
  3. ^ "In memoriam", Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine, vol. 88, no. 2, p. 92, 2012 – via Issuu
  4. ^ Renkl, Margaret (July 8, 2008), Fighting the cancer a mammogram can't catch, CNN
  5. ^ a b "Mom blogger Susan Niebur loses battle with cancer", Today, February 7, 2012
  6. ^ D'Arcy, Janice (February 7, 2012), "Susan Niebur, the Toddler Planet hero, friend and mother", Washington Post
  7. ^ 2012 Prize Recipients, American Astronomical Society, retrieved 2020-06-07
  8. ^ "113394 Niebur", JPL Small-Body Database, retrieved 2020-06-07
  9. ^ Singer, Kelsi (February 26, 2019), "Announcing the 11th Annual Susan Niebur WiPS Networking Event – LPSC 2019", Women in Planetary Science
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