Kazunari Shibata selected for 6th Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics (16 August 2019)

On 16 August, the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies' Division of Plasma Physics (AAPPS-DPP) announced Graduate School of Science Professor Kazunari Shibata as one of the two 2019 laureates of the Subramanyan Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics, the other being Professor Liu Chen of Zhejiang University/the University of California, Irvine. Now in its sixth year, the annual award is conferred on scientists who have made "seminal/pioneering contributions in the field of plasma physics".

Professor Shibata is cited for his "pioneering and seminal contributions in solar and astrophysical magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)". The specific achievements mentioned are: the "first non-steady MHD numerical simulations of astrophysical jets from magnetic accretion disks", "discovery of coronal X-ray jets and chromospheric anemone jets in the solar atmosphere", "theories and numerical simulations for solar jets and mass ejections based on the MHD reconnection mechanism", "proposal of plasmoid-induced-reconnection and fractal reconnection", and "suggestion that superflares, observed on Sun-like stars, may also occur on the Sun".

The award ceremony will be held at the 14th Asia-Pacific Physics Conference, scheduled to take place 18–22 November 2019 in Malaysia.