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Stamatios (Tom) Mike Krimizis (Greek: Σταμάτιος Κριμιζής; born September 10, 1938) is a Greek-American scientist in space exploration. He has contributed to many of the United States' unmanned space exploration programs of the Solar System and beyond. He has contributed to exploration missions to almost every planet of the Solar System.[1][2] In 1999, the International Astronomical Union named the asteroid 8323 Krimigis (previously 1979 UH) in his honor.[2]
Stamatios (Tom) M. Krimizis | |
|---|---|
 Stamatios (Tom) M. Krimizis | |
| Born | Stamatios M. Krimizis September 10, 1938 |
| Citizenship |
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| Employer | Applied Physics Laboratory |
| Title | Head Emeritus, Space Department |
| Scientific career | |
| Thesis | An interplanetary diffusion model for the time behavior of intensity in a solar cosmic ray event (1965) |
| Doctoral advisor | James Van Allen |
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Stamatios Krimigis was born September 10, 1938 in Vrontados, Chios, Greece, where he completed his early education.[2] He then moved to the United States to further his studies. Krimigis earned a Bachelor of Physics from the University of Minnesota in 1961. He continued his education at the University of Iowa, where he received a Master of Science in 1963 and a Ph.D. in 1965 in Physics under the mentorship of renowned space scientist James Van Allen.[2]
He is Head Emeritus of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.[3][4] He holds the Chair of Science of Space at the Academy of Athens, Greece,[2][5] and serves as the President of the Greek National Council for Research and Technology.[1]
Krimigis is the only scientist in the world to lead or participate in space physics experiments on all nine classical planets. He has served as a principal investigator on five NASA missions, including the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, the Cassini Saturn Orbiter, and as a co-investigator on many others.[1][4]
Krimigis has designed, built, flown and analyzed data from 21 instruments in various NASA and European Space Agency missions.[2] His Low Energy Charged Particle Experiment (LECP) instrument flies aboard both Voyager spacecraft; on Voyager 1, LECP data was essential to determining that a spacecraft had left the solar system for the first time in 2012.[4][6] Krimigis was also instrumental in establishing NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost planetary missions, as well as the New Frontiers program, for which the APL-built New Horizons to Pluto was the first mission. He is also a co-investigator on the Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018.[7]
He is co-investigator for LAN/HI-SCALE on Ulysses solar polar orbiter, EPIC on GEOTAIL, EDP for Galileo mission, TRD on Mariner 3, and for the LECR on Mariner 4.[2][8] Krimigis has also worked on the Advanced Composition Explorer, the Mariner 5, MESSENGER and New Horizons programs.[8]
In 1986, Krimigis briefed President Reagan on the AMPTE mission. He also met with President Gorbachev in 1987 and President Bush in 1990 to discuss space exploration.[4][9]
In 2016, Krimigis received NASA's highest service honor, the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, for his lifelong efforts to advance space exploration and science.[10]
In 2017, Krimigis's contributions to the Voyager program were highlighted in the documentary film "The Farthest."[10]
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Krimigis's research has focused on the study of the magnetospheres of planets and the heliosphere. His pioneering work on space instruments has contributed significantly to our understanding of space weather and the interactions between solar wind and planetary environments. His work with the Voyager spacecraft has provided invaluable data on the outer planets and the boundary of the solar system.
Krimigis's publication record spans from "Interplanetary diffusion model for time behavior of intensity in a solar cosmic ray event," published in the Journal of Geophysical Research in 1965, to "Search for the exit: Voyager 1 at heliosphere's border with the galaxy," published in Science in 2013. As a researcher, Krimigis has published nearly 600 articles in scientific journals and books, including ground-breaking findings on solar observations, planetary magnetospheres, and the charged particles that flood the space between the planets. Krimigis has over 21,000 citations, making him one of the most cited scientists in his field.[3][10]
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- Fellow, APS, AGU, AAAS, AIAA
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (2004)
- Member of the Academy of Athens, Chair of Science of Space (2004)
- COSPAR Space Science Award (2002)
- Smithsonian Institution Trophy (2002)
- Aviation Week and Space Technology Laurels in Space Award (1996, 2001)
- NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1981, 1986)
- Basic Sciences Award, International Academy of Astronautics (1994)
- Council of European Aerospace Societies Gold Medal (2011)
- National Air and Space Museum Lifetime Achievement Trophy Award (2015)[11]
- Hellenic Physical Society Award, for major contributions to science in Greece and abroad (May 11, 2015)[12]
- American Astronomical Society Space Flight Award (2015)[13]
- NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal (2016)[5]
- International Academy of Astronautics von Karman Award (2017)
- Homeric Award from the Chian Federation of America (2005)[14]
- Over 40 NASA and ESA Group Achievement Awards
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