Justin C. Kasper awarded Copernicus Medal 2020
The Copernicus Medal 2020 has been awarded to Justin C. Kasper for his pioneering work on the heating and acceleration of the solar corona and the solar wind, and his outstanding leadership of the SWEAP Investigation on Parker Solar Probe which has now successfully touched the Sun.
Justin C. Kasper is a professor in the University of Michigan's Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering department. He designs sensors for spacecraft that explore extreme environments in space, from the surface of the Sun to the outer edges of the solar system. He is interested in understanding the forces that lead to solar flares and the solar wind, a stream of particles heated to millions of degrees in the Sun's atmosphere, or corona. In 2007, he used measurements by the Voyager spacecraft to detect the termination shock, a massive shockwave surrounding our solar system. He has served on advisory committees for NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the National Academy of Sciences. He leads the SWEAP Investigation on Parker Solar Probe, a mission of exploration that made history in 2018 as the first human-made object to plunge into the solar corona. He has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2010), the Henry Russel Award (2018), and numerous NASA awards. More information can be found at: https://clasp.engin.umich.edu/people/kasper-justin-c/
The Copernicus Medal recognizes individuals with outstanding and innovative scientific achievements in geo-, planetary, or space sciences who have also accomplished fruitful work for the promotion of international collaboration in the sciences. It is dedicated to scientists in the midst of their career.
The Copernicus Gesellschaft e.V. is a non-profit society, registered in Germany, and aims to promote international collaboration in the geo- and space sciences. The society was founded in 1988 by directors, scientists, and administrative staff of the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy (today Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research – MPS). The Copernicus Gesellschaft e.V. is the exclusive partner of the Copernicus GmbH, Meetings & Open Access Publications.
More information on the Copernicus Medal.
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Photo credit: NASA Ames Research Center