Dr. Sami Solanki has made many seminal contributions to the study of solar magnetism and its impact on the solar–terrestrial relationship over his career. His visionary and outstanding leadership and innovative instrument development have made him a pillar of the solar physics community. Dr. Solanki’s ground-breaking research has advanced understanding of the physical mechanisms that govern the structure and evolution of magnetic fields on the Sun and other stars and established reconstruction of the solar irradiance variability on timescales of days to millennia. In addition, Dr. Solanki led the balloon-borne Sunrise mission that demonstrated very high-resolution solar imaging from a flight platform, and the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager on the European Solar Orbiter mission that is currently in flight. He has also mentored generations of solar and space scientists into successful careers.
The Hale prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to solar astronomy over an extended period of time and is presented in memory of George Ellery Hale (1868-1938).
Contact:
Dr. Michael S. Kirk
Press Officer, AAS Solar Physics Division
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
+1 301-614-7045
[email protected]