Professor Annapurni Subramaniam Awarded COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal 2026
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Why in News
- Professor Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru, received the prestigious COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal for 2026.
About The COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal 2026
- This top international award recognizes outstanding scientific achievements and research leadership in space science, with a special focus on building space capabilities in developing countries.
- The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) present this award jointly.
- Organizers present this medal once every two years during the COSPAR Scientific Assembly.
- The medal honors the memory of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, father of the Indian space program, by rewarding key individual achievements in space exploration and astrophysics.
Key Features of the Award
- COSPAR and ISRO established this medal jointly in 1990 to honor Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
- Selection committees evaluate candidates based on research completed in the five-year period ending one year before the assembly.
- Space researchers and astrophysicists from any country can win this award if they strengthen space research in developing nations.
- Professor Subramaniam won the award for her research on stellar populations, blue straggler stars, galaxy evolution, and her role as calibration scientist for UVIT aboard AstroSat.
- Earlier Indian recipients of this medal include U. R. Rao in 1996, Gurbax Singh Lakhina in 2014, and Anil Bhardwaj in 2024.
Significance
- This award highlights India's growing leadership in space astronomy through major projects like AstroSat and the Thirty Meter Telescope.
- Professor Subramaniam is the first Indian woman and the third woman globally to win this medal, which inspires female leadership in science.