Named in honor of Margherita Hack (1922– ), director of the Trieste Astronomical Observatory (1964–1987), director of the astronomy department of Trieste University (1985–1991 and 1996–1997) and a former president of IAU Commission 29. Although her studies have ranged from optics and solar physics to radioastronomy (galactic 21-cm emission), her main fields of research remain stellar spectroscopy, stellar atmospheres and observable effects of stellar evolution. Her present interests are the ultraviolet and optical spectroscopy of close interacting binaries, atmospheric eclipsing binaries and symbiotic stars. (M 32350) _ _.