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Posted by baalke on October 11, 2006, 12:13 pm
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE: DPS0610-1 10 October 2006
Dale P. Cruikshank - 2006 Gerard P. Kuiper Prize Winner
Division for Planetary Sciences (American Astronomical Society)
The Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical
Society awards the 2006 Gerard P. Kuiper Prize for outstanding
contributions to the field of planetary science to Dale P.
Cruikshank, Research Scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center in
California. Cruikshank pioneered the application of infrared
spectroscopy to solar system bodies, developed laboratory techniques
that became tools for interpreting the observations, and has been a
leader in the design of instruments for remote sensing observations
from deep space planetary exploration probes. Cruikshank's key
contributions concern the detection and characterization of
volatiles and organics of the surfaces of asteroids and outer solar
system bodies. His discoveries, spanning four decades, confirm the
early conjecture that common ices are dominant components of outer
solar system bodies. With colleagues, he discovered the five ices
known on Triton, three on Pluto, and water ice on satellites of
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. With colleagues, he was first
to find water ice in the Kuiper Belt, and methanol ice on a Centaur
that links these bodies to comets. The ices he found on Triton and
Pluto are the sources of the atmospheres of these two bodies,
especially fitting discoveries as it was G.P. Kuiper who discovered
the first satellite atmosphere, on Titan. Cruikshank pioneered
thermal infrared determinations of the albedos of small bodies
beyond the asteroid main belt, leading to the recognition that low-
albedo material is prevalent in the outer solar system. His
spectroscopic work gave the first firm evidence for complex organic
solids on a planetary body (Saturn's satellite Iapetus), and
provides the basis for progress on the identification of such
materials elsewhere. A distinguished scientist and a recognized
leader in the planetary community, Cruikshank has participated in a
number of past and present NASA missions, including Voyager,
Cassini, Spitzer, and New Horizons.
For his outstanding contributions to planetary science, and
especially planetary astronomy, it is with great pleasure that the
Division for Planetary Sciences awards the 2006 Gerard P. Kuiper
Prize to Dale P. Cruikshank.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Information:
Dr. Dale. P. Cruikshank
Research Scientist
Astrophysics Branch (Mail Stop 245-6)
NASA Ames Research Center
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