Shoemaker Lecture
The Shoemaker Lecture is part of the AGU series of Bowie lectures that were inaugurated in 1989 at the 50th presentation of the William Bowie Medal, the AGU's highest honor.
The Shoemaker lecture is named for Eugene Shoemaker, an outstanding geologist and planetary scientist known for his study of impact craters and lunar science. Shoemaker was awarded the Bowie Medal in 1996 and was killed in an auto accident in Australia in 1997. His citation for the Bowie Medal illuminates his illustrious career that was crowned with the discovery that Comet Shoemaker/Levy-9 would impact Jupiter in 1994.
Recent Lectures
- 2012: Maria Zuber - Gravity, Topography and the Early Evolution of the Moon
- 2011: Sean C. Solomon - MESSENGER: Exploring the Innermost Planet
- 2010: Carle M. Pieters - Template for the Terrestrial Planets: The Moon
- 2009: Susan W. Kieffer - Enceladus: Oasis or Ice Ball?
- 2008: Peter H. Smith - The Phoenix Mission Explores the Martian Arctic
- 2007: Alfred McEwen - The Geology of Mars as Seen by MRO's HiRISE
- 2006: Fredric W. Taylor - The Atmosphere and Climate of Venus
- 2005: Carolyn Porco - Cassini's Exploration of the Saturn System
Whipple Lecture
The Whipple Lecture is given by the winner of the Whipple Award. Fred Whipple, a gifted astronomer most noted for his work on comets, was an AGU Fellow elected in 1962 and the Section's first Whipple Award honoree in 1990.
See the Planetary Sciences Section's About webpage for further information our Section Honor and its namesake.
Recent Lectures
- 2012: Steven Squyres - Clues to a Hot, Wet and Violent Ancient Mars: Spirit in the Columbia Hills and Opportunity at Endeavour Crater
- 2011: Joseph Veverka - The Complex Evolution of Comet Nuclei: Evidence from Deep Impact and Stardust-NExT
- 2009: Jean-Pierre Bibring - Mars Exploration: Bridging Our Past and Future
- 2008: Roger Phillips - Terrestrial Planet Geophysics
- 2007: Raymond Arvidson - The Importance of a Program of Mars Exploration
- 2005: John T. Wasson - Impacts, Porosity and Volatile Loss
- 2004: John A. Wood - A Framework for Chondrite Formation in the Nebula
Sagan Lecture
The Sagan Lecture is co-sponsored with the Biogeosciences Section and is named in honor of Carl Sagan. Trained in astronomy and biology Sagan was a leader in establishing the field of Astrobiology and a tireless educator, author and space advocate. He is well known among the general public for his award-winning PBS television series Cosmos and numerous books.
Sagan was President of the Section from 1980 to 1982. He was a founder of The Planetary Society and was Editor in Chief of Icarus for 12 years. An inspiration to several generations of young planetary scientists he died in 1996.
Recent Lectures
- 2012: Piers Sellers - The Race to Understand a Changing Planet
- 2011: Geoffrey W. Marcy - Radii, Masses, Densities, and Occurrence for Planets Within 0.25 AU
- 2010: John Eiler - Isotope Geochemistry and the Study of Habitability and Life on Other Planets
- 2009: Tori Hoehler - Life at the Common Denominator: Mechanistic and Quantitative Biology for the Earth and Space Sciences
- 2008: Paul Falkowksi - The story of O: The evolution of Earth's oxygen cycle and its relevance to life outside of our solar system
- 2007: Ralph Lorenz - Exploring Titan, An Earth-like Organic Paradise
- 2006: David J. Des Marais - Exploring Mars Broadens the Biogeosciences into the Realm of Astrobiology
- 2005: Steven Squyres - Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet
Upcoming Meetings
Visit our Meetings page for additional meetings and details.
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