The Laboratory Astrophysics Division (LAD) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) is pleased to announce the recipient of its 2026 Dissertation Prize, given to an individual who has recently completed an outstanding theoretical or experimental doctoral dissertation in laboratory astrophysics. For the year 2026 the prize goes to Dr. Julia Santos for her thesis Transformation and sublimation of interstellar ices: insights from laboratory experiments and astronomical observations.
Dr. Santos earned her PhD in Astrophysics, cum laude, from Leiden University in 2025, working with Prof. Ewine van Dishoeck and Prof. Harold Linnartz. She is currently a 51 Pegasi b Fellow at Harvard University.
Dr. Santos is being cited for elucidating and quantifying several key processes in the formation and evolution of interstellar ices. Her dissertation research focuses on the chemical evolution of interstellar ices throughout the stages of star and planet formation, and on how these processes shape the molecular inventory of nascent planetary systems. For her thesis, she employed ultra-high-vacuum cryogenic setups to investigate radical-driven ice chemistry, as well as both thermal and non-thermal sublimation of volatile species, with particular emphasis on molecules bearing biogenic elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and especially sulfur. She complemented these laboratory studies with astronomical observations from facilities including the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment to trace sublimated ices in star-forming regions. Her thesis provided new constraints on the origins and fate of molecules from clouds to planet-forming disks, including the experimental confirmation of a new methanol ice formation pathway that challenged long-standing paradigms.
Her thesis has also been nominated for the C.J. Kok Jury Prize for Best Thesis of the Year at Leiden University.
The LAD Dissertation Prize includes a cash award, a framed certificate, and an invited lecture at a meeting of the Laboratory Astrophysics Division.
Contacts:
Stefanie Milam
LAD Past Chair
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
+1 (240) 419-1796
[email protected]
Dennis Bodewits
LAD Secretary
Department of Physics
Auburn University
+1 (334) 844-4274
[email protected]
Julia Santos
Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University
[email protected]
The AAS Laboratory Astrophysics Division (LAD, https://lad.aas.org) is a multidisciplinary division that encompasses experimental and theoretical research, and related observational astronomy and planetary science, with the objective of advancing our understanding of the fundamental processes that drive the Universe.
The American Astronomical Society (AAS, https://aas.org), established in 1899, is a major international organization of professional astronomers, astronomy educators, and amateur astronomers. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community, which it achieves through publishing, meetings, science advocacy, education and outreach, and training and professional development.