The Royal Astronomical Society recently announced the winners of its awards for 2001. The society’s highest award, the Gold Medal, was given out in the categories of astronomy and geophysics. In astronomy, Hermann Bondi, retired master of Churchill College, University of Cambridge, was recognized for “his outstanding contributions to scientific and intellectual leadership and his distinguished career in astrophysics and gravitation, and also for his work in the area of the public understanding of science,” according to the citation. Since his retirement, Bondi has been very active in science and education, and in international welfare issues. In geophysics, Henry Rishbeth, emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at Southampton University, was acknowledged for “his inspiring leadership within the geophysical community and his distinguished career in ionospheric physics.”
Jeremy Bloxham, professor of geophysics and chair of the department of Earth and planetary sciences at Harvard University, received the 2001 Chapman Medal for “his major contributions in both observational and theoretical geomagnetism.”
The 2001 Hannah-Jackson (née Gwilt) Medal and Gift went to John Baldwin for “his major contribution to astronomical instrumentation through the design, development, and exploitation of a series of highly productive synthesis telescopes.” In 1999, he retired from his position as head of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, University of Cambridge. He is currently involved with using large telescopes to obtain diffraction-limited imaging of faint objects without adaptive optics.
The Herschel Medal was presented to Patrick Thaddeus, Willson Professor of Applied Astronomy and professor of applied physics at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was cited for “his contribution to our understanding of astrophysical chemistry, in particular, to the mapping of molecular clouds and carbon monoxide in the Galaxy, which has laid the foundation for rapid advances in many astrophysical problems.”
