Arctowski Medal
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The Arctowski Medal is awarded by the U.S.
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
"for studies in
solar physics Solar physics is the branch of astrophysics that specializes in the study of the Sun. It intersects with many disciplines of pure physics and astrophysics. Because the Sun is uniquely situated for close-range observing (other stars cannot be re ...
and solar-terrestrial relationships." Named in honor of
Henryk Arctowski Henryk Arctowski (15 July 1871 – 21 February 1958; ), born Henryk Artzt, was a Polish scientist and explorer. Living in exile for a large part of his life, Arctowski was educated in Belgium and France. He was one of the first humans to wint ...
, it was first awarded in 1969.


List of Arctowski Medal winners

Source
NAS
*Stuart D. Bale (2025) - For fundamental contributions to our understanding of the physics of the solar corona and the solar wind. * David J. McComas (2023) - For pioneering contributions to experimental space physics. *Dana W. Longcope (2021) - For fundamental research on the nature of solar magnetism, magnetic topology, and reconnection, providing a unified framework for understanding the energization and dynamics of quiet sun, active regions, flares, and coronal mass ejections. * Michelle F. Thomsen (2019) - For her fundamental contributions to our understanding of the relationships between the sun and its planetary bodies, with a particular emphasis on the physics of collisionless shocks and the dynamics of the planetary magnetospheres of Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn. * Mats Carlsson and
Viggo Hansteen Harald Viggo Hansteen (13 September 1900 – 10 September 1941) was a Norway, Norwegian lawyer. He was executed during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. Biography Harald Viggo Hansteen was born in Oslo, Norway. As a student he was ...
(2017) - For their investigations in radiative transfer, magneto-hydro-dynamics, and plasma physics that has resulted in major advances in chromospheric diagnostics and our understanding of the physical mechanisms that drive chromospheric and coronal dynamics and energetics through the development and use of the Bifrost numerical model of the sun's atmosphere. * Alexander J. Dessler (2015) - For his notable imagination in framing many of space science's most basic conceptions about the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field and their interactions with the magnetospheres of Earth and other planets at the beginning of the Space Age. * John T. Gosling (2013) - For elucidating fundamental issues in the physics of the
solar atmosphere The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
and
solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun's outermost atmospheric layer, the Stellar corona, corona. This Plasma (physics), plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy betwee ...
, including revealing the "Solar Flare Myth", discovering bi-directional solar-electron streaming and, in the last decade, finding reconnection events in the solar wind. * John W. Harvey (2011) - For major contributions to understanding the sun's magnetic fields and its interior structure, and for developing the instrumentation that has made these discoveries possible. *
Marcia Neugebauer Marcia Neugebauer (born September 27, 1932) is an American geophysicist who made contributions to space physics. Neugebauer's research was among the first that yielded the first direct measurements of the solar wind and shed light on its physics ...
(2010) - For definitively establishing the existence of the solar wind, critical to understanding the physics of the
heliosphere The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere, and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, tailed bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding ...
, and for elucidating many of its key properties. * Leonard F. Burlaga (2008) - For pioneering studies of the magnetized solar wind plasma from 0.3 to 102 AU, including the recent crossings of the Voyagers of the heliospheric termination shock and their entry in the
heliosheath The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere, and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, tailed bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding in ...
. * Edward J. Smith (2005) - For his pioneering studies of the solar and heliospheric magnetic fields in deep space and planetary magnetic fields and their interaction with the solar wind. * Roger K. Ulrich (2002) - For recognizing the solar five-minute
oscillation Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...
s as acoustic modes in the solar interior and systematically developing both the theory and the observations to establish today's precise standard model of the solar interior. * Arthur J. Hundhausen (1999) - For his exceptional research in solar and solar-wind physics, particularly in the area of coronal and solar wind disturbances. * Raymond G. Roble (1996) - For his indispensable contributions to understanding the effects of variable solar inputs on the Earth's
atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
and
ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...
by powerful global modeling techniques. *
John A. Simpson John Adrian Simpson (August 20, 1854 – September 11, 1916) was a Canadian politician and businessman. Born in Peel County, Canada West, he came west in 1890 and eventually settled in Innisfail, where he opened a lumberyard. He served on Inn ...
(1993) - For his pioneering studies of the properties of the charged particle environment of the Sun, the Earth, and the other planets. *
Peter A. Sturrock Peter Andrew Sturrock (20 March 1924 – 12 August 2024) was a British-American physicist. A professor of applied physics at Stanford University, much of Sturrock's career was devoted to astrophysics, plasma physics, and solar physics, but Sturr ...
(1990) - For major contributions to the understanding of the solar magnetic activity, especially with regard about the genesis and effect of
solar flare A solar flare is a relatively intense, localized emission of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and ot ...
s. * John A. Eddy (1987) - For his demonstration of the existence and nature of solar variations of long-term and the consequences of these changes for climate and mankind. *
William E. Gordon William Edwin Gordon (January 8, 1918 – February 16, 2010) was an electrical engineer, physicist and astronomer. He was referred to as the "''father of the Arecibo Observatory''". Biography William E. Gordon was an Electrical Engineer. He wa ...
(1984) - For his pioneering development of theory and instrumentation for radar
backscatter In physics, backscatter (or backscattering) is the reflection of waves, particles, or signals back to the direction from which they came. It is usually a diffuse reflection due to scattering, as opposed to specular reflection as from a mirror, ...
studies, which opened a broad field of research in the high altitude ionosphere. *
Thomas M. Donahue Thomas Michael Donahue (May 23, 1921 – October 16, 2004) was an American physicist, astronomer, and space and planetary scientist. Donahue graduated in 1942 from Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri and received in 1947 his PhD in physic ...
(1981) - For his fundamental contributions to understanding the role of solar radiation in the physics and chemistry of the atmospheres and ionosphere of the Earth, Mars, and Venus. * John R. Winckler (1978) - For his outstanding research on the solar
modulation Signal modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform in electronics and telecommunication for the purpose of transmitting information. The process encodes information in form of the modulation or message ...
and acceleration of high energy particles and the discoveries of solar flare
gamma rays A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol ), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from high energy interactions like the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei or astronomical events like solar flares. It consists o ...
and auroral
X-rays An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
. *
Jacques M. Beckers Jacques Maurice Beckers (14 February 1934 – 26 February 2021) was a Dutch-born American astronomer. He was director of the National Solar Observatory between 1993 and 1998. Beckers worked mainly in the field of astrophysics and astronomical optom ...
(1975) - For his extraordinary originality and achievement in the discovery and study of exotic small-scale phenomena in the Sun. * Francis S. Johnson (1972) - For his pioneering work in the physics of the high atmosphere and space. * Eugene N. Parker (1969) - For his comprehensive and imaginative contributions to the theoretical understanding of plasma interactions with the solar and terrestrial magnetic fields. * J. Paul Wild (1969) - In recognition of his many and comprehensive contributions to solar
radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies Astronomical object, celestial objects using radio waves. It started in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observat ...
.


See also

*
List of physics awards A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
Prizes named after people This is a list of awards that are named after people. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U–V W Y Z See also * Lists of awards * List of eponyms * List of awards named after governo ...


References

{{National Academy of Sciences, state=collapsed Awards established in 1969 Awards of the United States National Academy of Sciences Physics awards