Rosaly M. C. Lopes (born January 8, 1957)[3] is a planetary geologist, volcanologist, an author of numerous scientific papers and several books, as well as a proponent of education.

[2][4][5][6] Lopes was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in her early life, lived near the neighborhood of Ipanema.

During her PhD she travelled extensively to active volcanoes[7] and became a member of the UK's Volcanic Eruption Surveillance Team.

[7] She worked on the Near Infra-red Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) team planning and analyzing observations of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io from 1996 to 2001.

She has given public lectures in several countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas and was the co-organizer of the United Nations/European Space Agency/The Planetary Society workshops in 1992 and 1993.

In 2005, she was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society,[15] in recognition of her efforts in public education, particularly among Hispanic groups and young women.

[16] This work includes talks, interviews, articles, a book on planetary volcanism, and efforts to nurture and mentor young scientists.