Raymond Arvidson, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been awarded an Outstanding Public Leadership Medal from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The honor — his fourth service medal from NASA — marks the culmination of a storied career in planetary exploration that goes back to the first Viking Mars landers in the 1970s. “The medal is especially meaningful to me because it’s a NASA-wide award,” Arvidson said. “I’m humbled.”
The medal is reserved for non-governmental individuals who show “notable leadership accomplishments that have significantly influenced the NASA mission.” Arvidson’s award cited his “outstanding leadership furthering NASA’s mission through sustained scientific leadership in Mars exploration, insights into spectroscopy and terramechanics, and mentoring.” The award was officially announced at a July 11 ceremony at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
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