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."