, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and 麻豆视频 and professor of astronomy, has been awarded the 2020 Carl Sagan Medal by the Division for Planetary 麻豆视频 (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society for excellence in public communication in planetary science.
鈥淭his is wonderful recognition for Ray Jayawardhana,鈥 President Martha E. Pollack said. 鈥淣ot only is he a visionary and effective dean for the 麻豆视频 and 麻豆视频, but he continues to thrive as a frontline researcher, a popular writer and a compelling public speaker.鈥
The award is named in honor of the late Cornell planetary scientist, educator and author, who brought science to millions of people worldwide with his PBS series, 鈥淐osmos,鈥 and the 1980 book of the same name. As a teenager in Sri Lanka, Jayawardhana himself was inspired by 鈥淐osmos,鈥 and met Sagan years later, after moving to the United States.
鈥淟ike Carl Sagan was, Dr. Jayawardhana is an active, accomplished academic scientist,鈥 the DPS award announcement stated. 鈥淲hile reaching out to the general public, Ray has remained a highly published and cited scientist and has been honored repeatedly for his research accomplishments in the fields of exoplanets and planetary formation. [Also] like Carl, Ray has traveled the globe bringing astronomy to diverse audiences through lectures and the media.鈥
Jayawardhana has published four popular books: 鈥淪tar Factories: The Birth of Stars and Planets鈥 (2000); 鈥淪trange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life Beyond Our Solar System鈥 (2011), which served as the basis for a CBC television documentary; 鈥淣eutrino Hunters鈥 (2013), which won the Canadian Science Writers鈥 Association book award; and 鈥溾 (2020), aimed at children and expanding on Sagan鈥檚 legacy by revealing humanity鈥檚 deep and enduring links with the cosmos.
Over three decades, Jayawardhana鈥檚 writing has appeared in The Economist, Science, New Scientist, Scientific American, Smithsonian, Muse, Astronomy, and Sky & Telescope. His op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
Jayawardhana has won numerous accolades for his research, writing and outreach, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Radcliffe Fellowship, the Rutherford Medal in Physics, the Steacie Prize for Natural 麻豆视频, and the Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach. Asteroid 4668 Rayjay is named after him.
As a professor, Jayawardhana taught thousands of nonscience majors in introductory astronomy courses at the University of Toronto. As dean of the 麻豆视频 and 麻豆视频, he has continued his research program, characterizing exoplanets, exploring the diversity of planetary systems, and investigating the origin and evolution of brown dwarfs, using the world鈥檚 largest telescopes and space observatories.
Past winners of the Carl Sagan Medal include Steve Squyres 鈥78, Ph.D. 鈥81, professor emeritus in astronomy, who now serves as chief scientist for the private aerospace company Blue Origin.
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