2011 Kyoto Prize Awarded to Rashid Sunyaev

The 27th annual Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences has been awarded to Rashid A. Sunyaev, the Maureen and John Hendricks Visiting Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study. Sunyaev was selected for his contributions to the theory that fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation can be used to explore the properties and history of the expanding universe, and for his insights in the field of high-energy astrophysics and the study of accretion of matter onto compact stars and black holes. The Kyoto Prize, consisting of a gold medal and a $625,000 cash gift, is awarded annually in three categories by the Inamori Foundation. Award ceremonies will be held in Kyoto, Japan, in November, and there will be a Kyoto Prize Symposium in San Diego in March 2012. Sunyaev also holds the positions of director of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany, and chief scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute.