Renée Kraan-Korteweg

Renée C. Kraan-Korteweg (born 1954) is a Dutch-South African scientist.

She is head of the University of Cape Town department of astronomy and founder and co-director of the Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravity Centre. She serves as vice president of the executive committee of the International Astronomical Union and is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Education and work experience Kraan-Korteweg graduated from the Gymnasium Münchenstein in Switzerland in 1972. She attained an MSc (Physics and Mathematics) from the Universität Basel in 1978 and a PhD in Astronomy in 1985. This was followed by a 6-year research fellowship at the University of Basel, a 3-year fellowship of the Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW) at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and a 3-year European Community fellowship at the Observatoire de Paris-Meudon.

In 1997 she was appointed a professor at the Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico, where she stayed for 7 years. She became head of the Astronomy department of the university in 2002. She participated in the Parkes HI Zone of Avoidance Survey, which used the Parkes 60m Radio Telescope to discover nearby galaxies previously "hidden" by the Great Attractor.

Awards and recognition In 2018 she won the Minister’s Special Award in the field of astronomy at the South African Women in Science Awards (SAWISA) 2018, in recognition of her “outstanding contribution to building South Africa’s scientific and research knowledge base in advancing the field of astronomy”.

In 2006 the NRF awarded Kraan-Korteweg NRF Rating B and has reaffirmed that rating subsequently.

In 2011 she was 2nd runner-up, Distinguished Women in Life, Natural and Engineering Science Department of Science and Technology Women in Science Award.