The IAU is delighted to report that its President, Silvia Torres-Peimbert, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Ben Gurion University (BGU) in Beer Sheva, Israel. The award was made on Tuesday, 7 June 2016.

The citation to the award reads:
Prof. Silvia Torres-Peimbert is professor emeritus at the Institute of Astronomy, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). Currently, she is coordinator of Physical, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences at UNAM. She published the first complete analysis of the composition of the Orion Nebula, which showed that it is chemically very similar to our own Sun. She has also performed extensive observations of planetary nebulae. She is the recipient of the Bethe Prize and many others and the first Latin American woman to serve as president of the International Astronomical Union.

Silvia has been President of the IAU since August 2015. Her colleagues in the IAU offer her their warm congratulations on receiving this prestigious award.

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together more than 10 000 professional astronomers from almost 100 countries. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.

Links

• Ben Gurion University’s announcement of the award
• Notice of a recent lecture given by Silvia Torres-Peimbert in Ben Gurion University

Contacts

Piero Benvenuti
General Secretary, International Astronomical Union
Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 43 25 83 58
Email: iau-general.secretary@iap.fr

Lars Lindberg Christensen
IAU Press Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 320 06 761
Cell: +49 173 38 72 621
Email: lars@eso.org