The 2003 Laureates / Basic Sciences Category / Earth and Planetary Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics

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Eugene Newman Parker

U.S.A. / June 10, 1927
Physicist; Professor Emeritus, The University of Chicago

"Outstanding contribution to space science by the elucidation of the solar wind and the cosmical magnetohydrodynamics"
Through his research on terrestrial, solar and cosmical magnetohydrodynamic phenomena, Professor Parker has produced numerous seminal physical concepts - not least among them the theory of the solar wind - opening new dimensions in earth and space sciences. His discoveries have made a significant contribution to the elucidation of various phenomena involving fixed stars, interstellar space, and the Galaxy, giving birth to new perspectives in astrophysics.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

1927
Born in Houghton, Michigan
1951
Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
1957-1960
Assistant Professor, Institute for Nuclear Studies and Dept. of Physics, University of Chicago
1960-1962
Associate Professor, Institute for Nuclear Studies and Dept. of Physics, University of Chicago
1962-1995
Professor of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute and Dept. of Physics, University of Chicago
1967-1995
Professor, Dept. of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago
1995-present
S. Chandrasekhar, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Physics, Dept. of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago

AWARDS AND HONORS

1967
Elected to National Academy of Sciences
1969
Henryk Arctowski Medal, National Academy of Sciences
1978
George Ellery Hale Award, American Astronomical Society
1989
United States National Medal of Science
1990
William Bowie Medal, American Geophysical Union
1992
Gold Medal, Royal Astronomical Society
1997
Bruce Medal, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
2003
James Clerk Maxwell Award, American Physical Society

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1958
Dynamics of the Interplanetary Gas and Magnetic Fields. Astrophysical Journal 128:664.
1963
Interplanetary Dynamical Processes. Interscience Division. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
1970
The Generation of Magnetic Fields in Astrophysical Bodies. I The Dynamo Equations.Astrophysical Journal162:665.
1971
The Generation of Magnetic Fields in Astrophysical Bodies. II ; The Galactic Field. Astrophysical Journal 163:255.
1979
Cosmical Magnetic Fields: Their Origin and their Activity. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1987
Magnetic Monopole Plasma Oscillations and the Survival of Galactic Magnetic Fields. Astrophysical Journal 321:349.
1998
Nanoflares and the Solar X-ray Corona. Astrophysical Journal 330:474.
1994
Spontaneous Current Sheets in Magnetic Field, with Application to Stellar X-rays. New York: Oxford University Press.