Maria Luisa Aguilar's 85th Birthday

Today’s Doodle celebrates the 85th birthday of Maria Luisa Aguilar, a world-famous astronomer. She reached for the stars and became the first professional astronomer in Peru, setting the foundation of the professional career of astronomy in the country. 

She was born on this day in Jauja, Peru, and from a young age, she was a stargazer who dreamed of studying the night sky. 

She entered the School of Mathematics at the National University of San Marcos in Lima but she left after her first year since the school did not offer a degree in astronomy. It seemed unlikely that Aguilar would ever become a professional astronomer as Peru had no astronomy programs at the time. But, she found a way! Aguliar traveled to Argentina to study astronomy at the National University of La Plata in Argentina, where she became a star student (pun intended!). 

Upon her return to Peru in 1969, her goal was to introduce astronomy as a university degree in Peru. Opportunities for young scientists were few and even fewer for women, so upon her return, she was only able to obtain part-time contracts in different academic and research institutions. A year later, the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos was the only institution that offered her a permanent tenure in its Academic Department of Physical Sciences where she went on to work there for 45 years. In this position, she began an intense outreach work within the University. She founded the Astronomical Fridays (a series of talks that continues today) and the Permanent Seminar on Astronomy and Space Sciences (SPACE).

In 1981, she became founding director of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Seminar at the National University of San Marcos. Soon after, she worked hard to forge an agreement between San Marcos University and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). This allowed the IAU to send visiting lecturers to Peru for the first time. In 1985, she coordinated the visits of three prominent astronomy lectures — which promoted astronomy as a legitimate field of study. She was  appointed Member of the IAU and was the only Peruvian representative. 

Happy 85th birthday, Maria Luisa Aguilar! Thank you for following your dreams, even when they seemed out of this world.