Lydie Koch

Lydie Koch-Miramond (1 June 1931 – 5 July 2023) was a French astrophysicist and pioneer in the study of cosmic rays at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). She played a major role in the development of French space astrophysics, especially in the discovery and study of galatic cosmic rays.

Biography Lydie Berthe Miramond was born on 1 June 1931 in Paris. In 1954, she graduated from the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de Paris (ESPCI), where she finished second in her class, the 69th cohort. Computer scientist Alice Recoque was a classmate.

In 1967, the CEA Physical Electronics Department was divided into two sections, with the establishment of a CEA Astrophysics Section in Saclay, which Koch-Miramond headed until 1979. She continued work on cosmic-ray research, focusing on the investigation of heavy-nucleus isotopes. Koch-Miramond coordinated the development of the instrument with Bernard Peters of the Danish Space Institute, leading to the provision of the cosmic-ray nucleus spectrum which remained a benchmark for over 30 years. She chaired the Human Rights and Ethics Committee of the Société Française de Physique, following its creation in 1990.

Committed to human rights, Koch-Miramond contributed to the book La Chine et les droits de l'homme (China and Human Rights) following a symposium on contemporary China organised by Amnesty International in 1990.

Awards and recognition

Chevalière of the Ordre des Palmes académiques Chevalière of the Ordre national du Mérite (17 June 1980) Chevalière of the Légion d'honneur (31 December 1991) 1989: Prix du CEA, shared with Jean-Jacques Engelmann and Philippe Goret, for research on the composition of cosmic rays and space detection techniques

In 2026, Koch-Miramond was announced as one of 72 historical women in STEM whose names have been proposed to be added to the 72 men already celebrated on the Eiffel Tower. The plan was announced by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo following the recommendations of a committee led by Isabelle Vauglin of Femmes et Sciences and Jean-François Martins, representing the operating company which runs the Eiffel Tower.

Selected publications