David McComas, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences and Vice President for the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, has been announced as the recipient of the 2023 Arctowski Medal awarded by the National Academy of Sciences.  The award recognizes McComas’s seminal contributions to space physics, with leadership in mission and instrument development that have led to numerous advances benefitting the entire field.  McComas has been the lead in the TWINS, IBEX, and IMAP NASA missions, and developed space instruments for numerous other missions including Parker Solar Probe, Advanced Composition Explorer, the New Horizons mission to Pluto, Juno to Jupiter, and the Cassini mission to Saturn.  Discoveries enabled by McComas’s work have revolutionized understanding of the solar wind and its interaction with the local interstellar medium.

McComas is one of three Princetonians and 16 scientists receiving the National Academy of Sciences' highest honors.  The Arctowski Medal, awarded every two years, was established in 1958 to recognize outstanding contributions to the study of solar physics and solar terrestrial relationships.

To learn more about McComas’s work and the award, visit Princeton’s website or the NAS announcement.
 
Congratulations, David!