LAD Awards 2026 Dissertation Prize to Julia Santos

This post is adapted from a Laboratory Astrophysics Division press release:

Laboratory Astrophysics Division (LAD) is pleased to announce the recipient of its 2026 Dissertation Prize, given to an individual who has recently completed an outstanding theoretical or experimental doctoral dissertation in laboratory astrophysics. For the year 2026 the prize goes to Dr. Julia Santos for her thesis Transformation and sublimation of interstellar ices: insights from laboratory experiments and astronomical observations. Dr. Santos earned her PhD in Astrophysics, cum laude, from Leiden University in 2025, working with Prof. Ewine van Dishoeck and Prof. Harold Linnartz. She is currently a 51 Pegasi b Fellow at Harvard University.

Dr. Santos is being cited for “elucidating and quantifying several key processes in the formation and evolution of interstellar ices.” Her dissertation research focuses on the chemical evolution of interstellar ices throughout the stages of star and planet formation, and on how these processes shape the molecular inventory of nascent planetary systems. For more information about Santos and her work, please see the full LAD press release.

The LAD Dissertation Prize includes a cash award, a framed certificate, and an invited lecture by the recipient at a LAD meeting.