| Gloria Koenigsberger | |
| Birth Name: | Gloria Suzanne Koenigsberger Horowitz |
| Birth Place: | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Occupation: | Scientist, teacher, researcher |
| Employer: | National Autonomous University of Mexico |
| Years Active: | 1982–present |
| Known For: | Research on massive stars and pioneering Internet in Mexico |
| Notable Works: | Los inicios de Internet en México[1] |
| Alma Mater: | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México |
Gloria Suzanne Koenigsberger Horowitz is a Mexican astrophysicist and professor working at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Her areas of expertise are in stellar spectroscopy, massive stars and binary interaction effects. She was director of UNAM's Instituto de Astronomía (1990-1998) and a leading member of the team that succeeded in establishing the first connection to the Internet in Mexico in 1989.[2] [3]
Gloria Koenigsberger was born in Mexico City.[4] She obtained a licentiate in Physics at the UNAM School of Sciences, graduating in 1978, and a doctorate in Astronomy at Pennsylvania State University in 1983, under the direction of Lawrence H. Auer.[2] She served as Director of the Instituto de Astronomía of UNAM from December 4, 1990, until early December 1998, during which time the Institute initiated collaborative programs with several US observatories aimed at improving the San Pedro Mártir (SPM) National Observatory infrastructure and promoting the construction of a large new technology infrared-optimized telescope on that site.[5] As part of these initiatives, UNAM became the second international member of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), collaborated with the University of Texas in the construction of optical components for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, and promoted studies for the construction of a Magellan-telescope clone at the SPM observatory. She also promoted the growth of the Institute's research branch located in Ensenada, Baja California, and the creation of a new branch located in the city of Morelia, Michoacán, which later evolved into UNAM's Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica.
Koenigsberger holds a permanent position as professor and research scientist at UNAM's Instituto de Ciencias Físicas based in Cuernavaca, Morelos, is a member of the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI) at Level III.[4] and a member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). [6] She served on the board of directors of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) (1997-1999 and 2001-2007) and was a member of its Audit Committee from 2007 to 2016.[7]
Her research is devoted to the study of the structure and evolutionary processes in massive stars, particularly the effects caused by interactions in binary systems.
Koenigsberger is a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.[8]