The Kavli Prize in Astrophysics 2018

THE KAVLI PRIZE IN ASTROPHYSICS 2018

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has decided to award the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics for 2018 to

EWINE VAN DISHOECK Leiden University, The Netherlands

“for her combined contributions to observational, theoretical, and laboratory astrochemistry, elucidating the life cycle of interstellar clouds and the formation of stars and planets.”

We live in a universe where molecules Through laboratory experiments, van (ISO) to study molecules previously not are omnipresent and play a key role in Dishoeck’s group has advanced the accessible by microwave spectroscopy, the physical processes that lead to the quantitative understanding of the chem- the Herschel Space Observatory to fol- formation of stars, planets, and life. ical processes governing the growth and low the trail of water throughout star for- Observing these molecules also allows evolution of interstellar ices. This work mation, and more recently the Atacama astronomers to probe cold and obscured includes investigations of photoprocess- Large Millimeter and sub-millimeter interstellar clouds in the Milky Way and ing of ices composed of water, nitrogen, Array (ALMA) to provide the first view of other galaxies where these processes carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. dust traps in disks around young stars, take place. Such studies serve as the basis for mod- observationally constraining planet for- elling the effects of photo-desorption mation theories. Our understanding of cosmic chemistry and processing of astrophysical ices, has been revolutionized by a combina- key steps in the evolution of molecular These examples illustrate the remark- tion of measurements with new obser- clouds and the subsequent formation of able breadth of her approach to these vatories on the ground and in space, stars, protoplanetary disks, and planets. fundamental problems, encompassing laboratory experiments, and theoreti- This work also helps to elucidate the cutting-edge astronomical observations, cal studies of the relevant processes. chemical evolution of our Solar System, physical and chemical theory, and labo- Among the researchers who have where comets and primitive meteoritic ratory experiments. Ewine van Dishoeck contributed to this revolution, Ewine van materials preserve the composition is leading the transformation of astro- Dishoeck stands out. of the original cloud of gas and dust. chemistry into a growing, quantitative Recently van Dishoeck and colleagues discipline. Among the many advances made by van have extended this approach in an effort Dishoeck and her collaborators are semi- to connect the chemical composition of nal contributions to our understanding the comet visited by the Rosetta mis- of the formation and destruction of sion with that of young Solar-type stellar interstellar molecules. Their pioneer- systems. ing work on carbon monoxide has been essential for determining the physical Ewine van Dishoeck has masterfully ap- processes that drive the evolution of plied spectroscopic tools across a broad the cold components of the interstellar range of wavelengths with a superb medium, from diffuse to dense clouds exploitation of the most capable astro- in the Milky Way, as well as the cold star- nomical measurement techniques. She forming gas in galaxies across cosmic time. used the Infrared Space Observatory The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Drammensveien 78, 0271 Oslo, Norway Phone +47 22 84 15 00 www.dnva.no