Prof. Nicole Capitaine

Nicole Capitaine is Astronomer at Paris Observatory. She is Member of the Bureau des longitudes and Corresponding member of the French Académie des sciences. She has teached fundamental astronomy at the Master degree level at Paris Observatory for many years. Her scientific work has been conducted within a broad international cooperation. This led to a better definition of reference systems and time scales for astronomy, and a better understanding of Earth's rotation. This also led to the adoption, through international resolutions by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), of new concepts, parameters and models for astronomy and geodesy, which are essential for many applications to space dynamics and dynamics of the solar system.

She has contributed to the national and international organization of fundamental astronomy and space geodesy, to its teaching and development, with leadership responsibilities of laboratory and doctoral training. Her activity has included responsibilities within the scientific divisions of the IAU, the organization of international scientific conferences and the development of scientific cooperation involving a large number of PhD students and postdocs between her team and various foreign institutions. At the IAU, she was President (2000-2003) of Division 1 "Fundamental Astronomy" of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and of the IAU Commission 19 "Earth Rotation", Chair (2003-2006) of the IAU Working Group "Nomenclature for Fundamental Astronomy" and member of various Working Groups, such as on "Precession and the ecliptic" and "Numerical Standards for Fundamental Astronomy". She was also President of the Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Data Analysis Services (FAGS) of ICSU (2006-2008). Since 1988, she has been organizer (or co-organizer) of the series of international meetings entitled "Space and time reference systems >> that have been organized on a nearly annual basis in Paris and other European countries.