Janine Connes

Janine Connes (, 19 May 1926 – 28 November 2024) was a French astronomer whose research led to the establishment of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy method, which was of major significance and laid the foundations of what was to grow into a significant new field.

Connes was married to , a fellow astronomer, until his death in 2019. The couple often conducted research together. Together with her husband and Robert B. Leighton, they were nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1970.

Research The Connes work was primarily in analysing the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique, a field the couple began studying in 1954 in Laboratoire Aimé-Cotton directed by Pierre Jacquinot. Her 1961 thesis and subsequent publications gave in-depth analysis of the practical details necessary for its use, with her thesis credited for establishing many of the early design principles.

She collaborated and travelled often to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA. Connes identified the registration advantage of using interferometry. This result is known as Connes's advantage. She works there as director of the center until 1982.

Publications

Source:

"The Field of Application of the Fourier Transform Method," J. Phys. Radium 19: 197 (1958)

"A Study of the Night Sky in the Near Infrared," J. Phys. Radium 21: 645 (1960), with H.P. Gush [in French]

"Near-Infrared Planetary Spectra by Fourier Spectroscopy. I. Instruments and Results," Journal of the Optical Society of America 56: 896 (1966), with P. Connes [in English]

The following four papers are" fundamental works of extreme importance to the field" -- Professor Ian McLean.

"Spectroscopic Studies Using Fourier Transformations," Rev. Opt. 40 (no.2): 45 (1961) [in French] "Spectroscopic Studies Using Fourier Transformations," Rev. Opt. 40 (no.3): 116 (1961) [in French] "Spectroscopic Studies Using Fourier Transformations," Rev. Opt. 40 (no.4): 171 (1961) [in French] "Spectroscopic Studies Using Fourier Transformations," Rev. Opt. 40 (no.5): 231 (1961) [in French] "Fourier Transform Spectroscopy: Introductory Report," Mem. Soc. Roy. Sci. Liège 9: 81 (1964) [in French]