2022 Dissertation Prize

2022 LAD Dissertation Prize Goes to Steve Bromley

The Laboratory Astrophysics Division (LAD) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) is pleased to announce the recipient of its 2022 Dissertation Prize, given to an individual who has recently completed an outstanding theoretical or experimental doctoral dissertation in laboratory astrophysics. This year’s prize goes to Dr. Steve Bromley for his thesis Atomic Data Needs in Laboratory Astrophysics: Experimental Methods for Spectroscopy and Charge Exchange with Ions. Dr. Bromley earned his PhD at Clemson University, working with Professor Joan Marler. He is now a Postdoctoral Fellow at Auburn University in the Department of Physics.

Dr. Bromley’s research is at the intersection of plasma physics and high-energy laboratory astrophysics. Applying a variety of experimental techniques, his groundbreaking laboratory measurements on the spectra of Au I and Au II generated critical data for our understanding of heavy metal formation in neutron star mergers. 

The LAD Dissertation Prize includes a cash award, a framed certificate, and an invited lecture by the recipient at a meeting of the Laboratory Astrophysics Division.

Contacts:

Murthy Gudipati
LAD Chair
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
lad.chair@aas.org

Phillip Stancil
LAD Past-Chair
University of Georgia
+1 (706) 542-2485
lad.pastchair@aas.org

Rachel L. Smith
LAD Secretary
NC Museum of Natural Sciences / Appalachian State University
+1 (919) 707-8239
ladsec@aas.org

Steve Bromley
Department of Physics
Auburn University
sjb0068@auburn.edu

The AAS Laboratory Astrophysics Division (LAD, https://lad.aas.org) advances our understanding of the universe through the promotion of fundamental theoretical and experimental research into the underlying processes that drive the cosmos.

The American Astronomical Society (AAS, https://aas.org), established in 1899 and based in Washington, DC, is the major organization of professional astronomers in North America. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe.