The Académie des Sciences awards numerous prizes and medals, honoring experienced scientists or encouraging young researchers at the start of their careers.
During a formal session held under the dome of the Institut de France on Tuesday October 17, 2023, two astronomers from Observatoire de Paris - PSL were honored.
Medal for Sciences of the Universe
Exceptional astronomer at Observatoire de Paris - PSL in the Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique, Maria Antonietta Barucci has been awarded the medal of the Universe Sciences Section of the French Academy of Sciences..
Maria Antonietta Barucci’s field of research is the origin and evolution of the Solar System through the study of the populations of small bodies.
She has coordinated numerous international ground and space observation programs.
She has participated and continues to participate in the design and development of several space missions (ESA, NASA, JAXA).
She was a pioneer in the physico-chemical characterization of trans-Neptunian objects.
| Thematic medal from the Universe Sciences section This medal is awarded to a fully-active scientist of any nationality working in a French public or private research laboratory, who has made a particularly promising contribution to the development of his or her discipline, without restriction as to the fundamental or applied nature of his or her research. |
Marie Sklodowska Curie and Pierre Curie" French-Polish Prize
Pierre Kervella, an astronomer at Observatoire de Paris - PSL in the Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique, shares with his Polish colleague Grzegorz Pietrzynski the French-Polish "Marie Sklodowska Curie et Pierre Curie" prize awarded by the Académie des sciences. During the ceremony, a tribute was paid to them.
Pierre Kervella’s research focuses on extragalactic distance scales. In particular, he studies Cepheids, variable stars used as distance standards.
Pierre Kervella collaborates with Grzegorz Pietrzyński in the international research project "UniverScale", which aims to achieve a precise and robust calibration of the universe’s current expansion rate.