Prof Louise Harra and team awarded 2016 Daiwa Adrian Prizes
9 August 2016
The winners of the 2016 Daiwa Adrian Prizes, the
prestigious awards for scientific collaboration in the UK and Japan,
have been announced. Following an assessment conducted by a panel of
Fellows of the Royal Society, the Trustees of The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese
Foundation have awarded four Daiwa Adrian Prizes of £10,000 to joint
UK-Japan scientific research teams.
This
included Professor Louise Harra (UCL Space & Climate Science) and
her team who worked in collaboration with Dr. Hirohisa Hara (National
Astronomical Observatory of Japan) and his team on understanding
magnetic energy release at all scales in the solar atmosphere. From
small-scale jets and flares that are seen anywhere on the sun, to large
scale explosions that are hard to predict and can have a significant
impact on the Earth.
University College London University of Cambridge Professor Louise Harra (Team Leader) Professor John Leonard Culthane Dr Helen Mason Dr Deborah Baker Dr Sarah Matthews |
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan Nagoya University Institute of Space and Astronautical Science Professor Hirohisa Hara (Team Leader) Professor Tetsuya Watanabe Dr Shinsuke Imada Dr Shin Toriumi Dr Toshifumi Shimizu |
Professor Harra said, "We are delighted to have won the
Daiwa Adrian Prize. We have collaborated with our Japanese colleagues
for many years, and the data from the Yohkoh and Hinode spacecrafts have
led to major discoveries in solar physics. It is fitting that this
award has been received close to the 10th birthday of the Hinode
spacecraft. We look forward to many more years and future instrument
ideas!"
Daiwa Adrian Prizes are awarded by The Daiwa
Anglo-Japanese Foundation on a triennial basis in recognition of
significant scientific collaboration between British and Japanese
research teams. They were established in 1992 and subsequently renamed
to commemorate the late Lord Adrian, a founding Trustee of the
Foundation, at whose initiative the Prizes were established.
Since
their launch, 42 Prizes totalling £485,000 have been awarded to 84
teams representing 77 different institutions, including 36 from the UK
and 39 from Japan - indicating the breadth and diversity of scientific
achievement by scientists in the two countries.
The Prizes were
assessed by the Royal Society's Hook Committee, chaired by Professor
Richard Morris CBE FMedSci FRS. In the Committee's appraisal, comments
ranged from 'A truly international collaboration, longstanding, tightly
interwoven and productive' to 'The potential impact of this research is
very exciting and the underlying science captivating.'
Previous
Daiwa Adrian Prizes have recognised ground-breaking work in areas as
diverse as antibiotics research, plasma physics, aerospace exploration
and plant-pathogen interaction.
Links
UCL Space & Climate Physics
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Nagoya University
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation