The National Academy of Sciences has announced that School of Earth and Space Exploration Director Meenakshi Wadhwa will be honored with the 2021 J. Lawrence Smith Medal for her extraordinary scientific achievements.
“Wadhwa has deepened the world’s understanding of the evolutionary history of the solar system through her significant contributions to the sciences of cosmochemistry, solar system chronology, meteoritics and trace element geochemistry,” the academy stated in a release.
The J. Lawrence Smith Medal is awarded every three years for recent original and meritorious investigations of meteoric bodies. The award includes a $50,000 prize and was established as a gift from Sarah Julia Smith in memory of her husband. It has been presented since 1888.