Viktor Ambartsumian Prize withheld over lack of suitable candidates

PanARMENIAN.Net - Viktor Ambartsumian International Science Prize will not be awarded in 2016 over the lack of suitable candidates.

The 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 awarded to outstanding scientists from any country and nationality who have made a significant contribution to the development of science. The Prize totals $500,000 and has been awarded once every two years since 2010.

The International Steering Committee (ISC) consists of 9 outstanding scientists: Acad. Radik Martirosyan (President of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, Armenia, ISC Chair), Prof. Catherine Cesarsky (Saclay Centre for Nuclear Research, France, Past International Astronomical Union President), Prof. Anatol Cherepashchuk (Director of Sternberg State Astronomical Institute, Moscow, Russia, academician), Prof. Norio Kaifu (Past General Director, Japan National Astronomical Observatory, Tokyo, Japan, Past International Astronomical Union President), Prof. Michel Mayor (Geneva University, Switzerland, First Winner of V. Ambartsumian International Science Prize), Prof. Vahe Petrosian (Chair of Astronomy Program, Stanford University, California, USA, NAS RA Foreign Member), Prof. Brian Schmidt (Australian National University, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mount Stromlo Observatory, Canberra, Australia, 2011 Nobel Prize Winner), Prof. Joseph Silk (Professor of Oxford University and Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), Member of the Royal Society, UK) and Prof. Yervant Terzian (Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA, Chair of the Scientific Council of the Armenian National Science and Educational Fund, NAS RA Foreign Member).

2016 Prize was announced on September 18, 2015, and March 18, 2016 was set as the deadline for nominations. The ISC received nominations from national academies of sciences, universities, observatories and astronomical institutions for 6 individual scientists and teams from various countries: Armenia, Brazil, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine and some other countries that team members came from. The nominated works were sent to prominent independent experts, and at least two referee reports were received for each of the works. The International Steering Committee, based on a thorough study of the nominated works, discussions and independent evaluation, summarized its opinion at a Teleconference on July 15.

According to ISC, V. Ambartsumian International Science Prize will not be awarded this year, as there was no suitable nominee among the candidates to meet the requirements of the Prize.

Among the previous winners are:

2010 – Michel Mayor (Obs. de Genève, Switzerland), Garik Israelian (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Spain), Nuno Santos (Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, Portugal) 2012 – Jaan Einasto (Tartu Observatory, Estonia) and Igor Novikov (Astro-Space Center, P.N. Lebedev Physics Institute, Russia) 2014 – Felix Aharonian (Ireland and Germany), and jointly Igor Karachentsev (Russia) and Brent Tully (USA), 2016 – The Prize was not awarded.

The Prize will next be awarded in September 2018.