2024 ASP Awards

Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal honoring Chryssa Kouveliotou, a leader in the field of high-energy astrophysics who made significant contributions to the understanding of cosmic gamma ray sources, in particular magnetars and gamma-ray bursts. Kouveliotou has been at the forefront in research on gamma ray sources starting with her PhD thesis in 1981. She received global recognition for her discovery o two distinct kinds of gamma-ray bursts based on their duration and photon energy. She played a critical role in the international collaboration that discovered multi-wavelength “afterglows” of gamma-ray bursts originating from cosmic explosions—a finding that revolutionized the field. In the early 1990s, Kouveliotou discovered that short, but exceptionally bright, bursts of gamma rays were coming from neutron stars with very strong magnetic fields. Dubbed “magnetars,” this class of neutron star had only been theoretically predicted. Kouveliotou opened a whole new field of study which she led for three decades.

In 1994, Kouveliotou became a contractor for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. After becoming a US citizen in 2002, Kouveliotou was hired by NASA as a civil servant at the highest Government grade. In 2013 she was promoted to a Senior Technologist of High-Energy Astrophysics, charged by the Astrophysics Subcommittee of NASA’s Science Advisory Council to chair a task force to develop the strategic plan and roadmap for the Astrophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. In 2015, Kouveliotou, joined The George Washington University faculty as a Full Professor in Astrophysics where she founded The George Washington Astronomy, Physics, and Statistics Institute of Sciences— a vibrant group that became a hub for research in high energy astrophysics.

Professor Kouveliotou has 495 refereed publications, with 49 in the prestigious journals, Nature and Science. She is one of the 249 most-cited space science researchers worldwide with a current total of 50,083 citations and 427,258 reads. She has received prestigious awards and honors, including memberships in the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, and the Athens Academy. Kouveliotou holds two honorary PhDs and has received numerous prestigious awards, including NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal, the Bruno Rossi Prize from the High Energy Astrophysics of the American Astronomical Society, the European Union’s Descartes Prize, the Dannie Heineman Prize awarded jointly by the American Astronomical Society and American Institute of Physics, and the Shaw Prize for Astronomy.

Robert J. Trumpler Award to Maggie Thompson, who completed her doctorate in Astronomy in 2023 from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Thompson’s dissertation sits at the intersection of astrophysics and geochemistry to better understand how rocky planets form their early atmospheres, the kinds of atmospheric compositions feasible for these worlds, and how to differentiate which gasses may be signs of life. Thompson conducted novel experiments on ancient meteorites—representative of the building blocks that formed the terrestrial planets in our Solar System—to develop a more accurate model for the development of atmospheres inside our solar system and beyond. Thompson also developed a three-pronged recipe to determine if observations of abundant atmospheric methane could be a sign of life. Thompson is currently a NASA Hubble Fellowship Program Sagan Fellow at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Earth and Planets Laboratory, where her main research interest is to use experimental techniques to understand the link between atmospheres and the bulk composition of rocky exoplanets.

Arthur B.C. Walker II Award to Gibor Basri, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and former Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion at the University of California, Berkeley for contributions to our understanding of the nature and origins of low-mass stars and substellar objects and for his commitment to promoting diversity in astronomy. Basri’s early research focused on the study of very low mass stars and search for proof of the existence of “brown dwarfs.”  Later, as Co-investigator for the Kepler Space Telescope mission, he led efforts leading to the discovery of thousands of extrasolar planets. Basri has also made profound contributions to equity and inclusion. At the University of California, he helped launch the Berkeley Diversity Research Initiative. Basri also served as the inaugural Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion for the entire University of California system, supporting underrepresented students and faculty in astronomy and beyond. Outside of University academics, he has participated in community efforts to mentor minority schoolchildren, written about his own career as an African-American scientist, and served on the ASP Board of Directors where he led efforts to establish the Arthur B.C. Walker II Award which he receives.

2024 Arthur B.C. Walker II Scholarship awardee is Robert Jahun Adams, a mentee of Gibor Basri. Adams is a student at the University of California, Berkeley with the intention to declare Astrophysics as his major and graduate in 2027. He attended the 2024 ASP Awards Gala to accept his scholarship with his family. 

Maria and Eric Muhlmann Awarded to Robert Simcoe, Director of the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research for his leadership in the design, construction, and operations of the Foldedport InfraRed Echellette (FIRE), a near-infrared, dual-mode spectrometer responsible for landmark contributions in multiple disciplines of astronomy. FIRE is installed on the 6.5-meter Magellan-Baade Telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile and allows infrared observations in both lower and higher spectral resolution. FIRE’s design makes it ideal for studying low mass stars, the atmospheres of Solar System planets, and the exceedingly faint infrared signals from the early universe. FIRE was used to classify and study Y-class brown dwarfs—extremely low temperature and ultra-low mass stars—which provided insights into the physics separating the smallest and coolest stars from gas planets. FIRE has also identified the most distant, supermassive black holes whose signature ultraviolet and optical wavelengths have been red-shifted into the infrared by cosmic expansion. Simcoe serves on numerous observatory science advisory committees and is active in reviewing and advising major instrumentation projects at Las Campanas.

Klumpke-Roberts Award to Richard Tresch Fienberg, distinguished astronomy, science communicator, and former press officer of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) for over 40 years as an advocate for astronomy sharing his passion and enthusiasm through his work and outreach, and for over a decade of dedication educating the public on all things solar eclipse. After completing his  PhD, Fienberg joined the staff of Sky & Telescope magazine for 22 years, 8 of which he served as Editor in Chief and 9 as President of its parent company. He taught astronomy for a year followed by 12 years as Press Officer of the AAS.  An eclipse chaser himself, he spent over a decade helping to lead the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force to educate the public on how to safely and enjoyably view and understand these extraordinary events. Fienberg received NASA’s Exceptional Public Achievement Medal in 2018 for his work on solar eclipse safety, which the space agency credited with minimizing eye injuries during the 2017 eclipse across the United States. Even post-retirement he volunteered full time to help prepare the public for the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses.

Richard H. Emmons Award to Daniel Reichart, distinguished professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for pioneering novel and successful astronomy education programs and his commitment to providing undergraduate students with authentic research experiences using the same tools that professionals utilize. Reichart developed the Panchromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and Polarimetry Telescopes (PROMPT) to make rapid and simultaneous, multi-wavelength observations of gamma ray burst afterglows. PROMPT inspired Reichart to develop a global network of telescopes for both researchers and undergraduates to use—the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network (Skynet)— consisting of nearly twenty optical telescopes around the world as well as a 20-meter radio telescope. To support student research using Skynet, Reichart has also created over 400 YouTube videos comprising an online, free, self-paced course covering concepts in astronomy, features of Skynet, and how to collect and analyze data from the telescopes. Reichart has also created the Educational Research in Radio Astronomy program - an annual, week-long, learning experience at Green Bank Observatory giving college students real experience collecting, analyzing, and drawing inferences from radio data.

Las Cumbres Award to Elizabeth Bero, a retired educator of Horizon Elementary School and a 34-year volunteer member of the Von Braun Astronomical Society (VBAS) in Huntsville, Alabama, for her outstanding educational outreach programs. She creates shows celebrating space and educating the public on many topics. As the volunteer Educational Program Director of the Wernher von Braun Planetarium at VBAS, she spent over 12 years providing a website, presentations, and materials for middle schools in the Huntsville, Alabama area, and has volunteered with statewide organizations and at conferences bringing astronomy to the public. Bero’s continued promotion of lifelong learning has motivated students and the general public to discover astronomy and science.