Pasadena to work on identifying the next-generation space telescope project that was to follow on from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Their work at JPL focused on telescope design, including optical systems, the TAU mission, the Large Deployable Reflector project, and applications of interferometry. Meinel and Aden served on the Hubble Independent Optical Review Panel advising NASA on the state of the telescope's mirrors and suitable measures to counteract the spherical aberration ground into its primary mirror. In 1995 Meinel and Aden retired from JPL, though they continued to work for JPL as consultants, alongside researching and publishing papers on telescope design and costings. Meinel's health began to decline and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In 2004 she published her final paper. In 2006 the couple moved to Henderson, Nevada, where Meinel died June 24, 2008, from natural causes at the age of 86. She was survived by Aden and their seven children. Aden Meinel died in 2011. Awards and honours In 1980 the American Physical Society selected Meinel as one of five outstanding "Women in Physics". Meinel was cited on Aden's Frederic Ives Medal (1980) and his George W. Goddard Award in Space and Airborne Optics (1984). In 1992 she was elected as a fellow of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). In 1992 and again in 2000 Meinel and Aden were jointly awarded the SPIE Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Award in Optical Design. In 1997 they were awarded the SPIE Gold Medal, the society's highest award. The wide asteroid 4064 Marjorie was named in honour of Meinel. The Meinel Building at the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences and the SPIE Aden and Marjorie Meinel Technology Achievement Award are named after the Meinels. Books References Further reading External links Literature by Aden Meinel and Marjorie Pettit Meinel 1922 births 2008 deaths American astronomers University of California, Berkeley alumni Pasadena City College alumni Pomona College alumni Claremont Colleges people Pasadena, California People from Pasadena, California Optical physicists California Institute of Technology people University of Arizona faculty Jet Propulsion Laboratory faculty Women astronomers