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Robert L. Brown Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award

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Robert L. Brown Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award

The Robert L. Brown Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award is administered by Associated Universities Inc. (AUI) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) on behalf of Bob Brown’s friends and family to honor Bob’s life and career. The Award is given each year to a recent recipient of a doctoral degree from any recognized degree granting institution in the United States, and which is substantially based on new observational data obtained at any NRAO facility and considered to be of an exceptionally high scientific standard.

Award

The Award is available to degree recipients of any nationality and consists of $1000, a framed certificate, and an invitation to give a colloquium at the NRAO.

Application Guidelines

To be eligible, the applicant must have successfully defended the thesis during the calendar year of the Award. The deadline for receipt of applications and supporting materials for any given calendar year Award is January 31 of the following year.

Applicants should send an e-­mail describing their dissertation, the date of their successful thesis defense, the date of the degree award, and the name and contact information of the primary thesis supervisor to [email protected]. A copy of the thesis should be sent by e-­mail to the same address or made available via a link given in the letter. Published papers or papers in press, or portions thereof, based substantially on the dissertation should accompany the application. Verification of the successful thesis defense and statement that the applicant has successfully completed all university requirements for the PhD should be sent directly by the appropriate university authority to [email protected].

Selection

The winning applicant will be selected by a committee appointed by the NRAO Director. If, in the opinion of the committee, in any given year none of the theses are sufficiently meritorious, the award will not be given in that year.

All questions should be addressed to [email protected].

Recent News

Next-Generation Very Large Array Antenna Design to be Used By German Astronomers

The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory has announced a significant collaboration with the Bavarian State Government to construct a cutting-edge radio telescope atop Germany’s highest mountain. This radio telescope will use the design of the proposed NSF NRAO’s Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA).

NSF VLA Contributes Crucial Puzzle Piece to ‘Peculiar’ High Energy Transient

High-energy transient signals are most often determined to be gamma-ray burst events, but the recently-launched Einstein Probe has expanded astronomers’ ability to quickly respond to similar signals occurring at X-ray wavelengths. Now, a multi-wavelength study of EP240408a concludes that while many of the signal’s characteristics might lead to the conclusion that it is a gamma-ray burst, the non-detection at radio wavelengths precludes that possibility.