RAS Thesis prizes

Dear Colleagues,

Each year the RAS recognises the best PhD theses in astronomy and geophysics completed in the UK. The deadline to nominate theses completed during 2018 is 31 January 2019.

Three prizes are available: the Michael Penston prize for astronomy, the Keith Runcorn prize for geophysics, and the Patricia Tomkins prize for instrumentation science in either astronomy or geophysics. The winners receive £1000 and an invitation to present the results of their thesis at a meeting of the RAS. The Michael Penston prize and Keith Runcorn prize runners-up will receive £50 book tokens.

Nominees must have completed their PhD (viva held and all corrections completed) at a UK university during 2018. For more details and to submit a nomination, see the pages on each prize:

The Michael Penston prize, for theses in astronomy and astrophysics, including cosmology, astrobiology etc.

The Keith Runcorn prize, for theses in geophysics, including seismology, solar physics, planetary science etc.

Patricia Tomkins thesis prize for theses in instrumentation science for astronomy and geophysics – while the support is aimed at developing skills in scientific hardware such as electronics, detectors and optics, the development of novel software specific to a hardware project will also be considered. The Patricia Tomkins prize is sponsored by the Patricia Tomkins Foundation.

We look forward to receiving your nominations.

Best wishes,

Nush Cole, Awards Officer, Royal Astronomical Society