Louis Allamandola honored

Internationally acclaimed scientist Dr. Louis Allamandola recently won three great honors. He was elected a fellow by two prestigious science organizations, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Physical Society (APS). He was also recognized with The Presidential Rank Award, one of the highest honors a civilian can receive.

Over the past 25 years, Dr. Allamandola's research has revolutionized our understanding of interstellar molecules and carbon rich dust and has firmly established the profound astrophysical importance of these materials. 'Dr. Allamandola's seminal contributions in astrochemistry have forever revolutionized our understanding of interstellar molecules, interstellar ices, and the chemical physics of the interstellar medium', said Dr. Yvonne Pendleton, Chief of the Space Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center, in California's Silicon Valley.

Each year, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society bestow the honor of Fellow on members that have been elected by their peers. Fellows are recognized for meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications. Winners of The Presidential Rank Award have demonstrated their ability as leaders that foster partnerships and community solutions to achieve results, and to get the job done more effectively and efficiently.

Dr. Allamandola was among the first to hypothesize that a common kind of infrared emission (colors of heat) known to scientists as the UIR bands were coming from molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Large by interstellar standards (composed of tens or hundreds of atoms), PAHs are a network of fused hexagonal rings of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms around the periphery and perhaps an occasional atom of nitrogen or oxygen incorporated within their carbon skeletons. Their tremendous toughness allows PAHs to survive even in highly energetic emission zones and, therefore, Dr. Allamandola recognized that these species could be probes of chemistry and structure of the regions of space where stars are born and die.

Dr. Allamandola established the Astrochemistry Laboratory at NASA Ames where he cultivated the experimental methods required to create realistic analogs of interstellar environments and materials in the laboratory. By developing new techniques that addressed a wider range of astrophysical problems, Dr. Allamandola established a worldwide reputation in the study of the composition, chemistry, and spectroscopic properties of interstellar and Solar System dust and ices.

In 1989, Dr. Allamandola provided a comprehensive discussion of the interstellar PAH model and its astrophysical implications as well as a rigorous analysis of the proposed emission mechanism (infrared fluorescence). Today, with nearly 500 citations, this manuscript is considered to be the cornerstone of the interstellar PAH model. He recognized that revolutionary, fundamental breakthroughs would be possible by bringing together different disciplines, such as low temperature chemistry and spectroscopy, and interstellar astrophysics.

Dr. Allamandola dreamed that one day humankind would could use this kind of light not visible to the human eye to monitor processes like star formation and see regions of space that are not visible to normal telescopes, and this has since come to pass.  He and his Co-Investigators are using the PAH model to explain observations from the Infrared Space Observatory and the Spitzer space telescope, a great observatory like Hubble but that sees in the infrared.

Working in collaboration with a wide variety of scientists from all over the world Dr. Allamandola has leveraged the diagnostic and predictive nature of his laboratory work by pursuing an active program of observational and theoretical studies.

After receiving his Ph.D. in chemical physics at the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Allamandola began his career in 1976 at Leiden University in the Netherlands. To further his research in astrochemistry, he accepted a position at NASA Ames Research Center in 1983.

For information about Dr. Allamandola and his laboratory on the Web, visit: http://www.astrochem.org

For information about the Space Science Division on the Web, visit: http://spacescience.arc.nasa.gov

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