UH Professor J. Patrick Henry Receives Award from Humboldt Foundation

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
J. Patrick Henry, (808) 956-7598
Institute for Astronomy
Karen Rehbock, (808) 956-6829
Institute for Astronomy
Posted: May 22, 2003

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has elected Professor J. Patrick Henry the recipient of a Humboldt Research Award for Senior U. S. Scientists. Henry is a professor of Physics and Astronomy and an astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

He is internationally known for his work on cosmology, the study of the evolution of the universe as a whole. He is also a member of the International Science Working Group planning the use of the Japanese Space Agency's ASTRO-E2 satellite that will be launched in 2005.

The Humboldt Foundation grants awards annually to internationally recognized U.S. scholars in all fields. These research awards are intended to recognize the lifelong academic achievements of the awardees. The awards are granted on the basis of nominations by eminent German scholars.

As a Humboldt Senior Scientist, Henry will receive a monetary prize and be invited to conduct research projects of his choosing at German research institutes for a period of up to 12 months. Henry will receive his award at the Humboldt Foundation Annual Meeting in Berlin, which includes a reception hosted by the President of Germany at the Bellevue Palace, his official residence.

Henry will spend four months in the summers of 2004 and 2005 at the Max Planck Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik in Garching Germany. He will collaborate with scientists in Garching on the analysis of data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray Observatory.

Henry notes, "For most of human history we have wondered where the starry heavens came from and what will eventually happen to them. The scientific study of these questions is termed cosmology. Astronomy has entered what many think will be the golden age of cosmology because for the first time we can gather hard evidence that may lead to answers."

Institute for Astronomy director Rolf-Peter Kudritzki remarked, "The Humboldt Foundation Award is one of the most prestigious recognitions of research accomplishments. I am extremely pleased and proud that one of our faculty has received this award. I look forward to the results of the important collaborative scientific work between Hawaii and Germany made possible in this way."