Plasma Astrophysics News



Gene Parker, for whom the SPA's Solar and Heliospheric Bowie Lecture has been named and long an icon in solar and space physics research, has been awarded the 2003 Kyoto Prize for lifetime achievement in Basic Science. As reported by John Leibacher in SolarNews, "Considered among the world's leading awards for lifetime achievement," the $400,000 Kyoto Prizes recognize significant contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual development of mankind. Parker, 76, the S. Chandrasekhar Distinguished Service Professor in Physics and Astronomy & Astrophysics, will be cited for establishing a new perspective on astrophysics by elucidating the solar wind and other cosmic phenomena. "I'm still trying to get used to the idea," Parker said. "It's a tremendous honor." Parker said his career has been full of scientific surprises. "It's been great fun. You let nature, in the form of astronomy, tell you what's happening, and then you sit there and try to figure out why, and sometimes you can and sometimes you still don't know enough to figure out why."