Noemí Pinilla-Alonso

Noemí Pinilla-Alonso (born in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain) is a Spanish planetary scientist and researcher at the University of Oviedo, where she is a member of the Institute for Space Sciences and Technology in Asturias (ICTEA). Her research focuses on the origin and evolution of the Solar System through the study of small bodies using ground- and space-based telescopes. She is the principal investigator of the James Webb Space Telescope program DiSCo-TNOs, dedicated to exploring the surface composition of trans-Neptunian objects.

Early career From 2000 to 2008, she worked at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma). Initially, she was responsible for the calibration of an automated system measuring infrared sky quality based on GPS technology. In 2016, she was appointed Associate Research Scientist in Planetary Sciences and later became Research Professor, a position she combined with an appointment as Associate Scientist in the Department of Physics at the University of Central Florida (UCF) Between December 2018 and April 2021, she also held the position of Chief Scientist, facilitating the redefinition of Arecibo’s scientific program.

Research on the origin and evolution of the solar system Pinilla-Alonso’s work seeks to understand the formation and evolution of the Solar System by combining spectroscopic observations and light-scattering models to study complex icy and rocky surfaces. Her research includes the surface characterization of dwarf planets such as Eris, Makemake, and particularly Haumea and its collisional family. She is co-leader of the PRIMASS survey, She has also contributed to support major space missions such as NASA’s New Horizons, OSIRIS-REx, Lucy, and JAXA’s Hayabusa2 by coordinating observations campaigns to provide detailed characterization of their targets.

Awards and recognition 2025 – El Comercio Science Award 2025 – Invited keynote speaker at the Solemn Ceremony of Saint Thomas Aquino, University of Oviedo 2022 – Major Deming Orange County Distinguished Resident Award for exemplifying collaboration, innovation, and inclusion 2021 – LIFE–UCF Women Faculty Recognition Award for impact on students and campus community 2019 – UCF Luminary Award for fostering major research collaborations at FSI, CLASS, and Arecibo Observatory 2018 – Asturian of the Month (La Nueva España, May 2018) 2017 – Asteroid 10689 pinillaalonso, named in her honor by the International Astronomical Union