RECOGNITION

The High Energy and Particle Physics Division of the European Physical Society (EPS) recently awarded the SDSS/BOSS/eBOSS collaborations the Giuseppe and Vanna Cocconi Prize for an outstanding contribution to particle astrophysics and cosmology in the last 15 years. The U was a key contributor to these international collaborations, including Kyle Dawson (right), which used the Sloan Telescope in New Mexico to collect the largest spectroscopic sample of galaxies in the world.

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy welcomed the University of Utah as a new member in April. Located in one of the darkest states in the nation, housing the Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, and launching the first-ever minor in dark sky studies in the United States, the U is a leader in exploring the impacts of artificial light at night and the loss of our night skies through a broad range of disciplines. “Participating in AURA is a clear next step,” says U faculty member Anil Chandra Seth, “as many of the key facilities our research programs rely on are managed by AURA.”