Nominations Solicited for the 2019 Lecar Prize

The Lecar Prize selection committee is soliciting nominations for future recipients of the Lecar Prize. Nominations should be in the form of a simple, brief letter, preferably sent by email to Matthew Holman. There is no restriction on the age of the recipient, though the award will not be given posthumously. Nominations received by 1 November 2018 will be considered for the 2019 Lecar Prize and will be valid for five years.

The Lecar Prize was endowed by a generous gift from the estate of Myron S. Lecar to encourage and recognize exceptional contributions to the study of extrasolar planets in particular and theoretical astrophysics in general. The recipient receives an honorarium and delivers a lecture at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The first Lecar Prize recipients were Prof. Douglas N. C. Lin (University of California, Santa Cruz) in 2014, Prof. Tsevi Mazeh (Tel Aviv University) in 2015, Prof. Eric Agol (University of Washington) in 2016, Dr. Natalie Batalha (NASA Ames Research Center) in 2017, and Prof. Renu Malhotra (University of Arizona) in 2018. Learn more about the prize and see videos of past lectures on the Lecar Prize page.

Dr. Myron "Mike" Lecar (1930-2011) joined the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in 1965 at the invitation of Fred Whipple. He remained with SAO until his retirement in 2009. Mike's research interests included gravitational dynamics, planet formation, and the dynamics of our solar system. Asteroid (4417) Lecar is named in his honor. Among his many accomplishments, Mike was particularly proud of his role in establishing the first astronomical observatory in Israel. Mike was a founding member of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative. He was a friend and mentor to many.

The Lecar Prize selection committee include: