Caltech Professor Selected as George Darwin Lecturer

Sargent will give the society's George Darwin Lecture later this year and will contribute a written version of the lecture to the society's journal, Astronomy and Geophysics. Recipients of the lectureship award are selected from a slate of nominees by the RAS awards committee, which looks for "a distinguished and eloquent speaker in a field of astronomy." As the chosen lecturer, Sargent will talk about the origins of other planetary systems to an audience of professional astronomers, geophysicists, and advanced amateurs.

Sargent looks forward to traveling to London for the lecture, which will be held on December 12 at the Royal Astronomical Society's home, the historic Burlington House in Piccadilly. Created in 1820 with the purpose of promoting astronomy and physics, the RAS has resided in the Burlington House since 1874.

Sargent has been a fellow of the RAS for many years, and earned the honorary title of associate in 2001. Her husband, Caltech's Bowen Professor of Astronomy Wallace Sargent, was the 1987 George Darwin Lecturer.

Anneila Sargent earned her Ph.D. in astronomy from Caltech in 1977, and has since become a faculty member, the director of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory, and the director of the Michelson Interferometry Science Center. Her contributions to the field of astronomy have been acknowledged with numerous honors including NASA's Public Service Medal in 1998. Sargent was selected as the University of Toronto's 2003 Graham Lecturer and the University of Pennsylvania's 2002 Selove Lecturer. In addition, she served as the 2000-2002 President of the American Astronomical Society.

Contact: Maryn Nelson (626) 395-3227 debwms@caltech.edu

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