Professor Steven Schwartz scoops Institute of Physics prize

Professor Steven J Schwartz picked up the Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Medal and Prize for his work in astrophysics and plasma physics.

Professor Steven J Schwartz is awarded the Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Medal and Prize for “his many contributions to shock waves, particle acceleration, and fundamental plasma phenomena in the Sun’s atmosphere, interplanetary medium, near-Earth environment and wider astrophysical contexts.”

His work involves the interactions between plasmas in the solar system, particularly the shockwaves that form in the collision between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field.

He also plays a leading role in NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, which is a constellation of four satellites investigating how the Sun’s and Earth’s magnetic fields explosively connect, leading to spectacular aurorae and upsetting GPS signals.

Text lifted from Three Imperial scientists scoop Institute of Physics prizes by Hayley Dunning, published on 30 June 2017