Following the lives of galaxies
Duilia de Mello studies how galaxies evolve, using observations from telescopes on Earth and in space. At the interview, she describes starting a research group in Brazil after a career that included extensive work with the Hubble Space Telescope. Public outreach and encouraging girls to explore science are also part of her work.
Checking an unexpected object
While observing galaxies in Chile in 1997, de Mello noticed an extra object. Before treating it as a discovery, she checked whether she was looking at the wrong field and examined the object with her instrument. She then sought colleagues' help to establish whether it had already been observed. Her account of discovering supernova SN 1997D includes these checks before the announcement.
Curiosity needed access and support
As a child, she had questions about the universe that school had not answered. Her mother took her to a university to meet professors. Later, doctoral study brought doubts about knowing enough, a long training period and financial difficulty.
Finding the people who can help
De Mello credits a network of women and men who taught, encouraged and opened opportunities for her. She urges students to identify possible mentors and ask for help. Her examples include gaining access to data and joining research teams: collaboration is part of how the science gets done.