The Meteoritical Society is delighted to be honoring some of our distinguished members with the society's annual awards. An Awards Ceremony was held on August 12 during the annual meeting in Frankfurt, Germany. Citations have been published in Meteoritics and Planetary Science and are linked below. The Awards Ceremony also recognized the previously announced awardees of the 2026 Pellas-Ryder Award and the 2025 McKay and Wiley Awards. Congratulations to the highly deserving awardees, and thank you to all our members who took the time to nominate our colleagues for consideration and who serve on award committees.
Leonard Medal Recipient: Marc Chaussidon
The Leonard Medal is given to individuals who have made outstanding original contributions to the science of meteoritics or closely allied fields. The Meteoritical Society presents the 2026 Leonard Medal to Marc Chaussidon for his transformative contributions to the understanding of isotopic variations in meteorites and short-lived radionuclides in the early solar system. Full citation: https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.70198
Barringer Medal Recipient: Philippe Claeys
The Barringer Medal is given for outstanding work in the field of impact cratering and/or work that has led to a better understanding of impact phenomena. The Meteoritical Society presents the 2026 Barringer Medal to Philippe Claeys for his exceptional contributions to the understanding of impact craters, mass extinctions, and his leadership in planetary science. Full citation: https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.70200
Nier Prize Recipient: Martin Suttle
The Nier Prize is given for significant research in the field of meteoritics and closely related fields by an early career scientist under the age of 35 or whose PhD was awarded <7 years ago. The Meteoritical Society presents the 2026 Alfred O. Nier Prize for a distinguished young scientist to Martin Suttle for his mineralogical, petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic studies of micrometeorites and aqueously altered carbonaceous chondrites to constrain origins and alteration histories of chondrite parent bodies. Full citation: https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.70197
Service Award Recipient: Narendra Bhandari
The Service Award honors members who have advanced the goals of the Society to promote research and education in meteoritics and planetary science in ways other than by conducting scientific research. The Meteoritical Society presents the 2026 Service Award to Narendra Bhandari for his extensive public outreach in India that has led to recovery of many meteorites (see note below), public lectures, media interviews and popular articles and books written on meteorites and the Indian space program, extensive efforts to develop and popularize the field of meteoritics in India which resulted in the start of planetary programs at many Indian universities and institutions.
"Dhajala Meteorite shower in January 1976 was pursued for more than one year, and he collected more than 500kg of meteorite in more than 1000 fragments where he involved school children with a hand-magnet.” - Prof. Anil D. Shukla
Full citation: https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.70189