The American Astronomical Society Committee on the Status of Women has announced that the 2012 George van Biesbroeck Prize will be awarded to Meg Urry for her tireless efforts to enhance the participation of women in astronomy! The citation will read as follows:
“The 2012 George van Biesbroeck Prize, which honors an individual for long-term extraordinary or unselfish service to astronomy, is awarded to Dr. C. Megan Urry for her sustained efforts to increase the number of women in astronomy. She was one of the five original organizers of the first “Women in Astronomy” meeting in Baltimore, was coauthor of the “Baltimore Charter” and persuaded the AAS council to endorse the charter’s goals. She also organized the second of these meetings in Pasadena in 2003. In addition to encouraging many young women scientists on an individual basis, she revived and edited for seven years STATUS, the newsletter of the Committee on the Status of Women of the AAS. She also published the results of key statistical studies, wrote numerous articles and gave many lectures on the status of minorities in the sciences. Through the years she has helped transform our field from one with a rather restrictive view of who belongs in the profession to one that is now held as an example for other disciplines on how to diversify the field. She did all this while at the same time achieving a distinguished career in astrophysics herself.”
Congratulations, Meg!