James A. Van Allen Space Environments Award Open for Nominations 10 November 2025 – 15 January 2026
The James A. Van Allen Space Environments Award is presented to recognize outstanding contributions to space and planetary environment knowledge and interactions as applied to the advancement of aeronautics and astronautics. The award honors Prof. James A. Van Allen, an outstanding internationally recognized scientist, who is credited with the early discovery of the Earth’s “Van Allen Radiation Belts.”
This award is presented biennially (in even-numbered years) at the AIAA AVIATION Forum/ASCEND.
Deadlines:
Accepting Online Nominations: 10 November (Odd-numbered years)
Nomination Deadline: 15 January (Even-numbered years)
Endorsement Letters Deadline: 1 February (Even-numbered years)
Award Recipients
2022
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Dr Henry B GarrettJet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)AwardedAward: 2022 AIAA James A. Van Allen Space Environments AwardAIAA Citation: "For a lifetime of contributions to the understanding of the interactions of spacecraft with the Earth’s magnetosphere and those of other planets."
2020
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Dr Louis J LanzerottiNew Jersey Institute of TechnologyAwardedAward: 2020 James A. Van Allen Space Environments AwardAIAA Citation: For significant contributions to our understanding of the space environment of the Van Allen radiation belts and leadership in establishing societal awareness of space weather.
2014
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Dr Stamatios M KrimigisThe Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics LaboratoryAwardedAIAA Citation: For pioneering studies of the radiation environment around all solar system planets and of interplanetary charged particles from Mercury to the local interstellar medium.
2012
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Dr Mary K HudsonDartmouth CollegeAwardedAIAA Citation: For significant contribution to our understanding of the space environment of the Van Allen radiation belts and leadership in development of space weather models.
2010
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Dr Daniel N. BakerUniversity of Colorado BoulderAwardedAIAA Citation: For excellence and leadership in space research, particularly in the study of the magnetosphere and its consequences for radiation effects on earth orbiting satellites.
2008
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Dr Alan C TribbleRockwell Collins, Inc.AwardedAIAA Citation: For outstanding leadership, research, and scholarship in the emerging field of space environments and effects and their influence on spacecraft design and engineering in the tradition of James Van Allen.
2006
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Dr Shi Tsan WuThe University of Alabama in HuntsvilleAwardedAIAA Citation: For pioneering work in recognizing the impact of solar events on the earth's space environment and for the initial work on numerical magnetohydrodynamic modeling of the solar-terrestrial relationships.