Dr Megan Argo and Professor Stephen Smartt FRS, both Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society, are to receive national honours.
Professor Smartt, of Queen’s University Belfast, is made Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). The award recognises his seminal work in astronomy, including the discovery and characterisation of the stars that will go on to explode as supernovae, and pioneering work in digital sky surveys. Smartt is a member of the Royal Irish Academy, won the Leverhulme Prize in 2005, and in 2018 he was awarded the RAS George Darwin lectureship. In that year he also won the Gold Medal of the Royal Irish Academy.
Dr Argo, from the University of Central Lancashire, is awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for her online public engagement work with Girlguiding during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the lockdowns she hosted 42 virtual planetarium shows, helping 1200 young women and girls find out more about astronomy. Argo is recognised as a national leader in public engagement in astronomy, and is a speaker and participant at many public events each year, working with diverse audiences.
The President of the Royal Astronomical Society, Professor Mike Edmunds, said: “I’m delighted to see that two leading lights in UK astronomy will be recognised with national honours. Stephen and Megan have made an enormous contribution to our science, and these awards are very much deserved by both of them.”
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Dr Robert Massey
Royal Astronomical Society
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press@ras.ac.uk