Agnès Acker

Biography

Acker earned a State Doctorate in 1976 from the University of Strasbourg with a dissertation titled Cinématique, âge et binarité des noyaux de nébuleuses planétaires. She founded the Strasbourg Planetarium and directed it for 22 years (1979–2001), the Association of French-speaking Planetaries (APLF) which she chaired for 26 years (1984–2010), and the "Stellar Populations" research team, which she led for 10 years (1987–1997). She also earned a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) in astrophysics at the Observatory of Strasbourg and directed that DEA for 12 years (1991–2002). A university professor, she was promoted to the exceptional class in 2003 and to emeritus status in 2009. She served on the National Steering Committee of the International Year of Astronomy (AMA09), was creator and co-chair of BEATEP, and has been a member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) since 1976. She became a board member of the International Planetarium Society (IPS) in 1990, served on the Scientific and Pedagogical Council of Le Vaisseau, CCSTI Strasbourg from 2004 to 2009, and has been an elected member of the Council of Teachers and Astronomers Liaison Committee (CLEA) since 1990. She directed the Science Garden, CCSTI of Louis Pasteur University from 1991 to 1994, was an elected member of the National Council Universities (CNU) from 1987 to 1991, and served on the Regional Economic and Social Council of Alsace (CÉSER Alsace) from 1995 to 2001. In planetarium work, she was project manager for several European shows in APLF/ESO partnership: Les mystères du ciel austral (2002), ALMA : la quête de nos origines cosmiques (2009), and L'eau : une aventure cosmique (2012). Between 1982 and 2008 she authored and scripted twelve planetarium shows. In 2005 she produced a trilingual version of the CD-ROM Explore the Universe, created by the University of California (Hands-On Universe). Since 1995 she has been director of publication of the magazine Planétariums, and she founded (1984) and directs the "Planetarium" collection of the Strasbourg Observatory. Acker was married to Robert Acker (1940 – 4 December 2022); the couple had five children and nine grandchildren. She was a fan of motorcycle sport and rode a Hornet 600 (95 CV).