University of Birmingham experts named among URSI Award Winners 2023

Professor Paul S. Cannon and Dr Sean Elvidge are two of the eight International Union of Radio Science (URSI) award winners for 2023, which recognise significant scientific research and leadership in the field of radio science.

URSI catalyses and coordinates scientific and engineering research in the various fields of radio science through forty-four globally distributed member committees and individual members. Their awards are presented at the opening ceremony of the URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposia (GASS) every three years. The 2023 GASS will take place in August in Sapporo, Japan.

The Rawer Gold Medal remembers the work and life of Professor Karl Rawer, the father of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI). In 2023 the Rawer Gold Medal will be awarded to Professor Paul S. Cannon, OBE, FREng. He is cited “for his contributions to radio science and the URSI community, specifically, to measurements of space weather and understanding its system impact”.

Karl Rawer was an exemplary scientist who recognised the importance of choosing important research questions and then galvanising the international community to collaboratively address those questions. I am highly honoured to be awarded the 2023 Karl Rawer Gold Medal, and I hope that, in my own way, I have followed his example. My thanks go to the URSI Board and to the German Member Committee for endowing this medal.

Professor Paul S. Cannon
The Koga Gold Medal remembers the work and life of Professor Issac Koga, who is best known for inventing a piezoelectric crystal unit with zero frequency-temperature coefficients. In 2023 the Issac Koga Gold Medal will be awarded to Associate Professor Dr Sean Elvidge, PhD. He is cited “for his ground-breaking work in ionospheric modelling and its operational deployment to the broader community”.