Awards

"For your significant contribution to our understanding of the evolution of, carbon sequestration in, and sedimentation in Hudson River marshes. Your passion as a mentor has led countless graduate students into scientific research.

For his foundational advances in sea surface change, Earth’s rotation, oceanic and atmospheric tides and securing GSFC leadership in satellite geodesy

An award for a contractor employee who, by distinguished service, ability, or vision has personally contributed to the advancement of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Wallops Flight Facility. This award replaces the former Wallops Director’s Award and is the highest award bestowed at Wallops. The citation reads: "For distinguished Goddard Space Flight Center and Wallops Flight Facility public service as a NASA contractor for over two decades, inspiring students, educators, citizen scientists, researchers, and the public!"

For their article titled “Remotely Sensed Soil Moisture Can Capture Dynamics Relevant to Plant Water Uptake.” Papers are selected “that the WRR Editor’s consider being in the top ~1% published in the journal each calendar year.”

To support women scientists working to combat the devastating impacts of climate change

The Peter S. Eagleson Hydrologic Sciences Award formerly known as the Hydrologic Sciences Award and the Robert E. Horton Award from 1956 to 1998, is presented annually and recognizes outstanding contributions to the science of hydrology over the course of the awardees’ careers. Successful nominees are senior scientists, with an emphasis on their contributions over the past five years.

Dr. Caroline A. Kilbourne and Dr. F. Scott Porter are recognized with the 2024 John C. Lindsay Memorial Award in Space Sciences for developing and implementing pioneering low-temperature sensor technology enabling revolutionary modern astrophysical X-ray spectroscopy. The X-ray quantum calorimeter, a completely new way to measure the energies of X-rays with high precision was originally developed at Goddard, and Drs. Kilbourne and Porter have greatly advanced this technology and recently implemented and deployed it in the Resolve X-ray spectrometer, onboard the JAXA/NASA X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission. The mission launched in September 2023 and has already produced spectacular spectra of a multitude of celestial X-ray sources of all types, opening a new window for the exploration of our Universe. For the first time, using Resolve’s spectral resolution that is 25 times higher than previous imaging X-ray spectrometers, astronomers now have a tool for precision chemical and dynamical analysis in the X-ray band that is comparable to what has been available for spectroscopy at longer wavelengths. This capability is already transforming what we know about black holes in our galaxy and throughout the Universe, and the matter that is captured within clusters of galaxies that is heated by gravity to 10’s of million degrees. The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission is very much a founding observatory to apply this novel X-ray sensing technology, and the performance is already forming the basis of new, even more capable X-ray observatories that will take the next steps starting in the 2030’s. Without the indefatigable hard work and attention to details of Drs. Kilbourne and Porter, getting this new technology to work in space as promised would not have been possible. Astronomers around the world are now about to enter a new age of discovery in high-energy astrophysics thanks to the pioneering work of these Goddard scientists.

For her pioneering work in developing and integrating models with remote sensing observations to understand aerosol sources, sinks, and their impacts on the Earth and its environment

Citation: For exceptional scientific achievement in forecasting the Roman Space Telescope capability to discover an order of magnitude more planets than are currently known.

Citation: For exceptional work in identifying the best exoplanet targets for NASA's newest flagship observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope

665/ Virtually Imaged Phased Array (VIPA) Development Team - Citation: For outstanding advancement of Goddard’s scientific and technical capability through development of the Virtually Imaged Phased Array (VIPA)

Citation: For outstanding advancement of Goddard’s mission through contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope science team and the Transform to Open Science Program.

Citation: For exceptional dedication to outreach, technological innovation and scientific investigation throughout his NASA career.

660/Astrophysics Decadal Survey Planning Team - Citation: For outstanding leadership in laying the groundwork to enable GSFC to become the lead NASA Center for the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Citation: For outstanding leadership in establishing General Observer Program for the Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer

Citation: For outstanding leadership in establishing the new NASA Bridge Program to open doors for underprivileged students and scientists to become part of NASA’s mission.

Citation: For outstanding and rapid implementation of the data pipeline and associated tools for the XRISM mission.

Citation: For outstanding leadership throughout Goddard Astrophysics

660/GSFC Athena Project Team - Citation: For outstanding effort in developing a cost-effective plan for a NASA-provided cryocooler for Athena and thereby saving the mission

Named in honor of Arthur S. Flemming, awardees are recognized for excellence in federal service. Dr. Douglas Morton, of NASA Goddard's Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, was recognized in the category of Applied Science and Engineering. Dr. Morton is being recognized for his leadership in the development of remote-sensing techniques as well as technologies for the detection, monitoring, and study of forest dynamics, fires, and the carbon cycle.

The article "Atmospheric response to a collapse of the North Atlantic circulation under a mid-range future climate scenario: A regime shift in Northern Hemisphere dynamics" by Clara Orbe et al.. was voted the best research publication by the science staff of Goddard Institute for Space Studies to have been published in 2023. The paper appeared in the Journal of Climate.

Jane Rigby, an astronomer who grew up in Delaware, is the chief scientist of the world’s most powerful telescope. A prolific researcher, Dr. Rigby embodies the American spirit of adventure and wonder.

The prize recognizes “outstanding achievement by an individual in the pursuit and/or application of geographical research, with a particular emphasis on wildlife conservation and environmental research studies.”