2019 Brouwer Award Winner - Fred Rasio

The American Astronomical Society's Division on Dynamical Astronomy (DDA) is pleased to announce that the 2019 recipient of the Brouwer Award is Professor Fred Rasio of Northwestern University.

The Division on Dynamical Astronomy is pleased to announce the 2019 recipient of the Brouwer Award is Professor Fred Rasio of Northwestern University.  Fred Rasio is an exceptional dynamicist who has had profound and lasting impact in a diverse range of topics, including dynamics of dense star clusters, planetary dynamics and formation, hydrodynamic stellar interactions, as well as gravitational wave astrophysics. Fred is one of the leaders in understanding the formation of short period double compact binaries, in particular the formation of binary black holes which can coalesce within the lifetime of the Universe, and have now been observed as the primary sources detected by LIGO. He and his group led the investigation of planet-planet scattering as a principal process of planet formation to explain many diverse observations of exoplanet systems, and, relatedly, the development and application of tidal theory and the Kozai-Lidov mechanism to planetary systems. In addition to his excellent research record, Fred has also done significant service to the astronomical community as editor of ApJ and ApJL for over a decade, as a member of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics Advisory Board, and as member of the Board of the Aspen Center for Physics. Fred has also mentored numerous students and postgraduate researcher many of whom have gone on to stellar careers of their own.

Professor Rasio will be invited to give a lecture at the 51st annual DDA meeting in 2020.