1. About the award
The Astronomical Society of India (ASI) has instituted a fund in the memory of Professor M. K. Vainu Bappu. Prof. Bappu was an Indian Astronomer known for the discovery of Wilson-Bappu effect, was the first president of the ASI and president of the International Astronomical Union and laid the foundation of modern Astronomy and telescope facilities in India. The award was instituted with the objectives to promote knowledge of Astronomy and Astrophysics and honour the contributions made by young scientists, normally not beyond 35 years of age, from any part of the world, in the field of astronomy and astrophysics.
As a token of appreciation of the scientist's contribution to astronomy and astrophysics, the Astronomical Society of India awards the Professor M.K. Vainu Bappu Gold Medal and a citation. The award is given at an interval of two years. Partial support for the recipient's travel to the venue of the meeting and full local hospitality during the period of the meeting will be provided by the Society.
2. Nomination Criteria
Young astronomers with exceptional achievements and promise are eligible for the award. The scientific achievements may be in any branch of astronomy, astrophysics and related fields. There are no restrictions on nationality. Work done prior to 31 December of the nomination period only will be considered.
3. Application
All nominations for the award must be received by the ASI, by the deadline as indicated on the website of the ASI. The nominations may be made by Heads of Institutions, Directors of Observatories, Heads of Departments or Senior scientists.
ASI is not accepting nominations for this award in the year 2023.
Each nomination, including all the supporting documents, should be submitted online in the following format:
- Name of Nominee
- Details of Nominee
- Affiliation
- Address for correspondence
- Date of birth
- Email-address
- Phone number
- Nomination letter with signature and date
- Academic qualifications
- Major scientific achievements on which the nomination is based
- List of publications
- Links to publications relevant to the recommendation
- Citations of relevance
- Any other information pertaining to the scientific excellence of the nominee
- Details of proposer
- Name
- Designation and Affiliation
- Address for correspondence,
- Email id
- Phone number
4. Selection Process
A five member Award Selection Committee (ASC) is constituted by the ASI ensuring technical and gender representation. Each member of the ASC receives all nominations along with the supporting material. The ASC will communicate the result of its deliberations to the ASI council within three months following the submission deadline.
5. Announcement of the Award
The successful nominee should be informed of the decision of the ASI council and be asked to receive the award and deliver the Vainu Bappu Memorial lecture during the following ASI meeting.
This award was instituted in the year 1986, and the following is the list of awardees:
1986 | Dr. Y. Fukui, Japan |
1988 | Dr. G.P. Efstathiou, UK & Dr. Srinivas R. Kulkarni, USA |
1990 | Dr. D.J. Saikia, India & Dr. D. Bhattacharya, India |
1992 | Dr. Pawan Kumar, USA |
1994 | Dr. Mathew Colless, Australia |
1996 | Dr. Sarbani Basu, USA |
1998 | Dr. Peter Martinez, South Africa |
2000 | Dr. Biswajit Paul, India & Dr. Alycia J. Weinberger, USA |
2002 | Dr. Brian P. Schmidt, Australia |
2004 | Dr. R. Srianand, IUCAA, Pune, India & Dr. Ray Jayawardhana, Univ. Toronto, Canada |
2006 | Dr. Banibrata Mukhopadhyay, IISC, Bangalore |
2008 | Dr. Nissim Kanekar, NCRA-TIFR, Pune, India & Dr. Niayesh Afshordi, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Canada |
2010 | Dr. Marta Burgay,Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Italy & Dr. Parampreet Singh, Louisiana State University, USA |
2012 | Dr. Luca Cortese, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia |
2014 | Dr. Nikku Madhusudan, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom |
2016 | Dr. Varun Bhalerao, IIT, Bombay, India |
2018 | Not Awarded |
2020 | Dr. Shriharsh Tendulkar (TIFR and NCRA) |
2022 | Dr. Eve J. Lee (McGill University, Canada) |