Noemi Pinilla-Alonso

Noemi Pinilla-Alonso is an Associate Scientist at the Florida Space Institute (University of Central Florida) and Deputy Principal Scientist at the Arecibo Observatory. She specializes in studying the surface properties of small Solar System bodies through visible/near-infrared observations and modeling, with a focus on icy dwarf planets and primitive asteroids.

• Research Themes: Origin of life (water ice/organics), Trans-Neptunian objects, asteroid surface composition, planetary mission support (Lucy, OSIRIS-REx, New Horizons).
• Publications: 80+ refereed papers, 205 unrefereed works, and 3 book chapters. Key contributions include James Webb Space Telescope studies of TNOs and compositional analysis of asteroids.

Scientific Honors:

• 2022 Orange County Distinguished Resident
• 2021 Women’s History Month Honoree
• 2019 UCF Luminary Award
• 2019 Asturiana del Mes (La Nueva España)
• Asteroid (10689) named in her honor (2017)

Students: Mentored postdocs like Ana Carolina de Souza Feliciano and graduate researchers like Brittany Harvison. Oversees a team of 20 scientists at Arecibo Observatory.