Robert J. Trumpler Award to Dr. Maggie Thompson
Dr. Maggie Thompson, a NASA Hubble Fellowship Program Sagan Fellow based at ETH Zurich and the Carnegie Institution for Science, was awarded the Robert J. Trumpler Award “for a recent PhD thesis considered unusually important to astronomy”, completed at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2023.
Maggie Thompson’s dissertation sits at the intersection of astrophysics, geochemistry, and meteorites to answer fundamental questions about the origins of rocky planet atmospheres, what compositions are feasible, and how to differentiate what gasses may be signs of life versus naturally forming. Thompson explored these questions through a range of scientific methodologies including developing novel laboratory experiments on meteorites and modeling expertise in planetary climate, photochemistry, and geochemical evolution.
Astronomical Society of the Pacific awards
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) recognises individual achievements in astronomy research, technology, education, and public outreach each year.
The Robert J. Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is given to a recent recipient of the PhD degree in North America.
About Robert J. Trumpler
Robert J. Trumpler was a Swiss-born U.S. astronomer who is most known for observing that the brightness of the more distant open clusters was lower than expected, and the stars appeared more red.