Anita Cochran (astronomer)

Anita L. Cochran is an American astronomer, planetary scientist, and senior research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin.[1] She is also the assistant director for research support at the McDonald Observatory.[2] She focuses on the study of primitive bodies in the solar system and the composition of comets.[3]

Anita L. Cochran
Born
New York, New York
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsUniversity of Texas at Austin

Early life and education

Cochran was born in New York City[4] and raised on Long Island.[5] She earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Cornell University in 1976. She then went on to the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed a master's degree in astronomy in 1979 and her PhD in astronomy in 1982.[3]

Career

In her astronomy career, Cochran has taken on numerous high-level leadership roles. She served, for instance, as the chair of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society from 1995 to 1996[6] and a committee member from 1989 to 1992.[7] She has also served on several committees for the National Research Council,[1][8] including the Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration[9] (COMPLEX). She was a co-investigator on the Comet Nucleus Tour, or CONTOUR, mission[4][10] and on the imaging team for NASA's Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby Mission.[1]

She is currently a member of the International Astronomical Union[11] and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's Observatory Council.[1]

Personal life

Anita Cochran is married to fellow astronomer Bill Cochran.[4]

References
  1. "UT Experts : University Communications : The University of Texas at Austin". experts.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  2. "University of Texas at Austin Department of Astronomy".
  3. "Anita Cochran - Astronomy". www.as.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  4. "Cochran | McDonald Observatory". mcdonaldobservatory.org. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  5. "Anita Cochran | People". NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  6. "Past DPS Officers | Division for Planetary Sciences". dps.aas.org. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  7. "Past DPS Committee Members | Division for Planetary Sciences". dps.aas.org. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  8. Front Matter | A Scientific Assessment of a New Technology Orbital Telescope | The National Academies Press. 1995. doi:10.17226/9295. hdl:2060/19960014823. ISBN 978-0-309-58614-6.
  9. APPENDIX: PARTICIPATING DISCIPLINE COMMITTEES | Scientific Opportunities in the Human Exploration of Space | The National Academies Press. 1994. doi:10.17226/9188. ISBN 978-0-309-57348-1.
  10. "Anita Cochran: Build Collaborations". Women in Planetary Science: Female Scientists on Careers, Research, Space Science, and Work/Life Balance. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  11. "International Astronomical Union | IAU". www.iau.org. Retrieved 2017-11-21.


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