CARL SAGAN MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC COMMUNICATION IN PLANETARY SCIENCE
Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society
Cambridge, UK, meeting
September 2005
Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society


2005 DPS PRIZES

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2005 DPS prizes!

These awards will be formally presented at the meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in Cambridge, England, which will take place from Sept. 4 to Sept. 9

Rosaly Lopes - 2005 Carl Sagan Medal recipient, in recognition of her significant efforts over the past 20 years in public outreach and education, particularly among Hispanic groups and young women. This work includes innumerable public talks, media interviews, articles in magazines and newspapers, a book on planetary volcanism, and major efforts to nurture and mentor young scientists.

Citation

Rosaly M. C. Lopes - 2005 Carl Sagan Medal Winner

The Division for Planetary Science of the American Astronomical Society awards the 2005 Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication by a Planetary Scientist to Dr. Rosaly Lopes, a Principal Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and Investigation Scientist for the Titan Radar Mapper on the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn.

Throughout her career studying planetary volcanism, Lopes has been an enthusiastic and untiring communicator of planetary science to the public. Early in her career she served as Curator of Modern Astronomy and Deputy Head of Astronomy at the Old Royal Observatory Greenwich, where she assumed the lead in interactions with the public and media. Since joining the JPL Galileo Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team in 1991, she took a leading role in communicating Galileo's results to the public and teachers.

Lopes is particularly active with Hispanic groups, and has been an inspiration for many young people in her native Brazil. She has worked tirelessly to bring science to Hispanic communities, and has been very active in the encouragement of women and minorities in science. She has written a popular book about volcanoes on Earth, and has edited an undergraduate book on planetary volcanism, in which all of the contributors are female scientists. She has always been extremely active in giving public and school talks throughout California, as well as in Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Italy. Lopes has conducted all of her public outreach activities while maintaining an extremely impressive scientific research program.

For her strong dedication to excellence in communicating planetary science to the public, the Division for Planetary Science is pleased to present the 2005 Carl Sagan Medal to Rosaly Lopes.

For more information please contact:

Carolina Martinez
Media Relations
NASA/JPL
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Mail Stop 186-120
Pasadena, CA. 91109
(818) 354-9382 phone
(818) 354-4537 fax

Carl Sagan Medal

CARL SAGAN MEDAL - AWARDS CEREMONY - CAMBRIDGE 2005


Photo courtesy of John Spencer


Photo courtesy of John Spencer


Photo courtesy of John Spencer


Photo courtesy of John Spencer


Photo courtesy Kelly Beatty


Photo courtesy Kelly Beatty


The 2005 winners of the DPS prizes. From left: W. Hubbard (Kuiper prize), Kelly Beatty (Masurksy award),
Rosaly Lopes (Sagan medal) and D. Nesvorny (Urey prize)

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