Aysor, Armenia
July 16 2010
Michel Mayor received Viktor Hambartsumian International Prize
Viktor Hambartsumian International Prize 2010 goes to famous Swiss
astrophysicist Prof. Michel Mayor and two of his team member.
Viktor Hambartsumian International Prize has been established by the
President of Armenia in 2009 and at present is one of the important
awards in astronomy/astrophysics and related sciences. It is being
awarded to outstanding scientists from any country and nationality
having significant contribution in science. The Prize totals USD
500,000 and will be awarded once every two years, starting with 2010.
The deadline for nominations was March 18, and the International
Steering Committee chaired by the President of the Armenian National
Academy of Sciences Prof. Radik Martirosyan received nominations from
national academies of sciences, universities, observatories, and Nobel
Prize winners for 14 outstanding scientists and teams from different
countries. After a thorough study of the nominated works, as well as
independent referees' reports, the Committee had several discussions
and finally Prof. Michel Mayor and his team nominated by the Swiss
Academy of Sciences were selected as winners.
Michel Mayor, professor at the Geneva University, is the co-discoverer
of the first extrasolar planet orbiting a solar-type star. He is the
principal investigator of an important survey carried in the southern
hemisphere to search and characterize exoplanets. Still going on at La
Silla Observatory (ESO, Chile) this survey has allowed the discovery
of several planets with mass as small as a few Earth masses.
Michel Mayor and his team members, nominated by the Swiss Academy of
Sciences, have done outstanding contributions in the domain of
planetary systems and their host stars. Despite the large number of
discovered extrasolar planets, the formation of planetary systems is
still far to be understood. The amazing diversity of these systems is
challenging. On the last ten years, Mayor and his international team
including members of the Astrophysical Institute of Canary Islands,
IAC, (Garik Israelian) and Centro de AstrofĂ - sica da Universidade do
Porto, CAUP, (Nuno Santos), have characterized the physical and
chemical properties of stars with extrasolar planets. Small anomalies
of spectra of stars hosting planets contribute to our understanding of
the complexity of planetary formation mechanisms. The results obtained
by that team had a strong impact on planet formation models.
From: A. Papazian
July 16 2010
Michel Mayor received Viktor Hambartsumian International Prize
Viktor Hambartsumian International Prize 2010 goes to famous Swiss
astrophysicist Prof. Michel Mayor and two of his team member.
Viktor Hambartsumian International Prize has been established by the
President of Armenia in 2009 and at present is one of the important
awards in astronomy/astrophysics and related sciences. It is being
awarded to outstanding scientists from any country and nationality
having significant contribution in science. The Prize totals USD
500,000 and will be awarded once every two years, starting with 2010.
The deadline for nominations was March 18, and the International
Steering Committee chaired by the President of the Armenian National
Academy of Sciences Prof. Radik Martirosyan received nominations from
national academies of sciences, universities, observatories, and Nobel
Prize winners for 14 outstanding scientists and teams from different
countries. After a thorough study of the nominated works, as well as
independent referees' reports, the Committee had several discussions
and finally Prof. Michel Mayor and his team nominated by the Swiss
Academy of Sciences were selected as winners.
Michel Mayor, professor at the Geneva University, is the co-discoverer
of the first extrasolar planet orbiting a solar-type star. He is the
principal investigator of an important survey carried in the southern
hemisphere to search and characterize exoplanets. Still going on at La
Silla Observatory (ESO, Chile) this survey has allowed the discovery
of several planets with mass as small as a few Earth masses.
Michel Mayor and his team members, nominated by the Swiss Academy of
Sciences, have done outstanding contributions in the domain of
planetary systems and their host stars. Despite the large number of
discovered extrasolar planets, the formation of planetary systems is
still far to be understood. The amazing diversity of these systems is
challenging. On the last ten years, Mayor and his international team
including members of the Astrophysical Institute of Canary Islands,
IAC, (Garik Israelian) and Centro de AstrofĂ - sica da Universidade do
Porto, CAUP, (Nuno Santos), have characterized the physical and
chemical properties of stars with extrasolar planets. Small anomalies
of spectra of stars hosting planets contribute to our understanding of
the complexity of planetary formation mechanisms. The results obtained
by that team had a strong impact on planet formation models.
From: A. Papazian