The IAU PhD Prize recognises outstanding scientific achievements of astronomy PhD students around the world. Each of the IAU’s nine divisions awards a prize to the candidate it feels has carried out the most remarkable work in the previous year, and the nine divisions together also agree on jointly awarding an extra prize, the PhD at-large Prize.

The IAU Executive Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 IAU PhD Prizes as follows:

• Division A Fundamental Astronomy: Joseph O’Leary, Australia, "General relativistic and post-Newtonian dynamics for near-Earth objects and solar system bodies"
• Division B Facilities, Technologies and Data Science: Luke Pratley, UK, "Radio Astronomy in the Big Data Era"
• Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage: Maria Giulia Andretta, Italy, "The conquest of the Moon. The history, the legacies and the cultural influence of the Moon landing. Analysis of the Italian media phenomenon as an example of pop science"
• Division D High Energy Phenomena and Fundamental Physics: Guang Yang, USA, "What drives the growth of black holes?"
• Division E Sun and Heliosphere: Munehito Shoda, Japan, "Fast solar wind driven by parametric decay instability and Alfvén wave turbulence"
• Division F Planetary Systems and Bioastronomy: Przemyslaw Mroz, Poland, "Astrophysical applications of gravitational microlensing in the Milky Way"
• Division G Stars and Stellar Physics: Simon Blouin, Canada, "Modeling of high-density effects at the photospheres of cool white dwarfs"
• Division H Interstellar Matter and Local Universe: Jennifer Bergner, USA, "Tracing organic complexity during star and planet formation"
• Division J Galaxies and Cosmology: Anna-Christina Eilers, Germany, "Unravelling 13 Billion Years of Cosmic History with Spectroscopic Studies: From the Milky Way to the Epoch of Reionization"
• PhD at-large Prize: Prantika Bhowmik, India, "Data Constrained Models for Solar Activity Predictions"

The recipient of each award receives a range of prizes, tailored by each Division at their own discretion. All recipients will receive airfare, registration fee and accommodation to attend the next IAU General Assembly, to be held in 2021 in Busan in South Korea, where certificates will be awarded. Other prizes may include the opportunity to present their thesis work at Division Days, as well as special treatment at the General Assembly such as an invitation to attend presentations to the IAU Executive Committee, dinner, and the possibility of presenting a talk at either a plenary or special session.

Also this year Springer has offered to nominate all IAU PhD Prize Winners 2019 for a Springer Thesis Award. This opportunity is extended annually to a limited number of high-ranking university research departments and societies in the physical sciences and engineering. The award itself comprises a monetary prize of €500 and publication of the work in the collection of outstanding dissertations Springer Theses. Over the past 9 years, this program has helped to disseminate the PhD research of more than 1000 young scientists.

The IAU congratulates all of these winners, wishes them every success in their future careers, and looks forward to another set of high-quality applications for next year’s award.

The round of applications for the 2020 IAU PhD Prize is open for submissions until 15 December 2020; the next set of winners will be announced in June 2021. Candidates are required to submit, among other items, an abstract of their thesis that is suitable for public dissemination, a 1500-word thesis summary, three letters of recommendation (including one from the PhD advisor) and a CV. The winner of each Division will be decided by the Division’s own standards and methods and guided by the Division Steering Committee. Theses must have been both submitted and defended by the prize deadline in order to be considered.

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together more than 13 500 professional astronomers from more than 100 countries worldwide. Its mission is to promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, 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.

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