The American Institute of Physics (AIP) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS), has awarded Greek astrophysicist Vicky Kalogera the 2018 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics for her groundbreaking work in astrophysical systems, which includes black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs.
“This gave us the opportunity, for the first time, to test the fundamental predictions of Einstein’s theory of general relativity,” Kalogera said. “Figuring out how black holes, these hard-to-probe objects, actually form in nature is a key question in astrophysics. And probing the dense matter of neutron stars - the kinds of pressures and densities that we can never reproduce in a regular lab - is also of prime importance in astrophysics.”
Kalogera is the Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. She also serves as director of Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA).
The President of the Hellenic Republic Provopis Pvalopoulos called Kalogera to congratulate her on her achievement.
About Vicky Kalogera
Vicky Kalogera is the co-founder and the current Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and the Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern. Kalogera received her Ptihio (B.S.) in physics in 1992 from the University of Thessaloniki in Greece and her Ph.D. in astronomy in 1997 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She then joined the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics as a CfA Postdoctoral Fellow and in 2000 was awarded the inaugural Clay Postdoctoral Fellowship. Kalogera was appointed Assistant Professor at Northwestern University in 2001 and was named the Erastus Otis Haven Professor of Physics and Astronomy in 2009 (until 2017).
You can find out more about Kalogera’s work on her research web page and on the Northwestern website: sites.northwestern.edu/vickykalogera/
About the Heinman Prize
The Heineman Prize is named after Dannie N. Heineman, an engineer, business executive, and philanthropic sponsor of the sciences. The prize was established in 1979 by the Heineman Foundation for Research, Education, Charitable and Scientific Purposes, Inc. Awarded annually, the prize consists of $10,000 and a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient plus travel expenses to attend the meeting at which the prize is bestowed.
