Eiichiro Komatsu Awarded the 2014 Chushiro Hayashi Prize

March 11, 2015
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)

Eiichiro Komatsu

Eiichiro Komatsu, director at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and an affiliate member of Kavli IPMU, received the 2014 Chushiro Hayashi Prize.

The Chushiro Hayashi Prize was established in 1996 by Prof. Chushiro Hayashi and Astronomical Society of Japan, when he was awarded the Kyoto Prize in 1995. As a theoretical astrophysicist, Prof. Hayashi has made significant contributions to various research fields, including the nucleosynthesis in the early universe, the stellar evolution, and the origin of Solar System. The purpose of this prize is to recognize researchers with distinguished achievements in fields related to astronomy and astrophysics (planetary science and astrophysics, etc.).

Komatsu was recognized for his work on “Precision Cosmology based on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB).” His contributions to the development of cosmology have led to this award. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has precisely measured the fundamental parameters of the present cosmic abundance and evolution, making it a standard framework of the modern cosmology, and greatly contributing to the observational tests of the inflation paradigm of the early universe. From 2001 to 2010, Komatsu worked as a key member of the WMAP team on data analysis and the theoretical interpretation. He was the first author of some of the highly cited WMAP papers.

“I am honored to receive the Astronomical Society of Japan Chushiro Hayashi Prize for the achievements of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe. I am grateful to those who nominated me for this prize, the selection committee for their recognition of our work, and everyone who mentored me. I am accepting this honor on behalf of the entire WMAP science team. While the WMAP mission has been completed, receiving this prize gives me added motivation to continue my research on cosmology,” says Komatsu.

The award ceremony will be held at the annual meeting of Astronomical Society of Japan, which will take place at Osaka University from March 18 to 21, 2015.