Adam Leroy, a professor of astronomy at The Ohio State College, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Henry Draper Medal.
The oldest medal awarded by the Nationwide Academy of Sciences, the Henry Draper Medal celebrates those that have made “a latest, unique investigation in astronomical physics, of ample significance and profit to science to advantage such recognition.” It’s awarded each 4 years.
Leroy’s work was chosen for pathbreaking efforts which have characterised, “in unprecedented element, the bodily nature of the interstellar medium and its relationship to star formation in close by galaxies.”
“We’re thrilled that the Nationwide Academy of Sciences has acknowledged Professor Leroy with the Henry Draper Medal,” stated David Horn, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State.
“His pioneering contributions have superior our understanding of the composition and historical past of the universe, and this prestigious award additional enhances the popularity of our excellent Division of Astronomy.”
The interstellar medium that Leroy research is the fuel and dirt between stars. This materials fills the house in galaxies, and sometimes accommodates primordial leftovers from the beginnings of the universe. As a result of it’s the gas from which future stars are born and a posh ecosystem that hyperlinks previous and future generations of stars, the interstellar medium is an important analysis goal for a lot of fields of astronomy.
“Understanding how cosmic ecosystems evolve is a giant subject in astronomy proper now,” Leroy stated. “Due to know-how made out there to us in solely the final 5 to 10 years, we’ve been capable of convey this subject into focus, making new observations that lastly reply questions we’ve had for many years.
Utilizing particular telescopes to check all types of sunshine, particularly radio and infrared mild, permits scientists to look into the interstellar medium instantly, stated Leroy. Earlier than coming to Ohio State, Leroy labored on the Nationwide Radio Astronomy Observatory, which operates the Atacama Giant Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and Very Giant Array (VLA) Radio Telescope amenities.
It was there that he started harnessing cutting-edge know-how to conduct research on molecular fuel and star formation in galaxies. This led to him co-founding the PHANGS-ALMA challenge, now widely known as the primary systematic survey of the numerous stellar nurseries and galaxies that dot our sky.
“A lot of folks do surveys of 1 galaxy or a small a part of our Milky Means utilizing one sort of sunshine and get a ton of element, however miss the massive image,” stated Leroy. “With PHANGS, we’ve labored to line up all the most effective telescopes on the planet on a consultant set of galaxies so as to take footage of your entire cosmic ecosystem.”
Whereas scientists previously may solely get hold of blurred or vague footage of the fuel and dirt in faraway galaxies, at this time these identical constructions could be seen with outstanding element.
By combining the ALMA radio array with highly effective devices just like the Hubble Area Telescope and the James Webb Area Telescope, the PHANGS-ALMA challenge has mapped the fuel, mud and newly born stars for greater than 100,000 stellar nurseries throughout practically 100 galaxies, offering a brand new era of astrophysicists with an in-depth view of the world the place stars and planets type.
“What we’ve performed is construct an observational foundation that informs how we go from a cosmos stuffed with simply spread-out hydrogen fuel to the cosmos stuffed with stars and galaxies we see round us,” Leroy stated. “Our observations get on the core physics behind how galaxies flip their fuel into stars.”
Many earlier recipients of the Henry Draper Medal have a document of continued achievements of their fields: Six recipients have been honored with a Nationwide Medal of Science, whereas 9 recipients have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.
“This medal feels very validating for the affect of this work that our group has performed,” Leroy stated. “Finding out the interstellar medium and star formation is necessary to many fields, however generally it may be under-the-hood analysis. So it’s neat to see it catching folks’s creativeness on the identical degree as black holes and pulsars.”
Recipients additionally obtain a money prize of $25,000, which Leroy plans to make use of to bolster additional collaboration with worldwide colleagues, together with different members of the PHANGS-ALMA group. Leroy praised the collaborative and supportive scientific atmosphere at Ohio State for serving to him win the award.
“Ohio State’s astronomy division is world-famous for its invigorating, supportive ambiance,” he stated. “That is a tremendous place to do cutting-edge analysis.”
In the event you discovered this piece helpful, please think about supporting our work with a small, one-time or month-to-month donation. Your contribution permits us to proceed bringing you correct, thought-provoking science and medical information you could belief. Unbiased reporting takes time, effort, and assets, and your assist makes it attainable for us to maintain exploring the tales that matter to you. Collectively, we will be certain that necessary discoveries and developments attain the individuals who want them most.
