Miriani Griselda Pastoriza

Miriani Griselda Pastoriza (born 1939) is an Argentine-born Brazilian astronomer, tenured professor in the Department of Astronomy of the Institute of Physics, at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, and is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.

Biography Miriani Griselda Pastoriza was born in 1939, in Villa San Martín Loreto, Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina. One of her main scientific contributions was the discovery and characterization, together with the Argentine astronomer José Luis Sérsic, of the so-called Sersic-Pastoriza galaxies (also known as galaxies with peculiar nuclei).

In 1970, she personally determined that the spectrum of the galaxy NGC 1566 is variable, which was a shocking discovery that introduced a change in the discipline. Continuing with this line of research, Pastoriza, in collaboration with international researchers, carried out work on light variability in other galaxies, which allowed mapping of the structure and size of the central regions of galaxies where supermassive black holes are hosted.

Pastoriza was the scientific advisor for many Brazilian astronomers who are now leading international scientists, including Thaisa Storchi Bergmann and Eduardo Luiz Damiani Bica.

Pastoriza is also an active fighter for female equality in science. She collaborates with the Latin American Association of Women Astronomers. She also participates in a program in Brazil called "Girls in Science".

Since 2014, she has been an Emeritus Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. She has reached the highest category for a researcher in Brazil, classified as 1A within the CNPq. She is the representative of Brazil in the International Scientific Committee of Gemini telescopes and SOAR Telescope International Board of Directors. She is part of the Board of Directors of the National Observatory of Rio de Janeiro and Board of Directors of the National Astrophysics Laboratory of Sao Paulo In 2007, she was named a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.

Legacy The "Miriani Pastoriza Award" is named in her honor by the board of directors of the Brazilian Astronomical Society.