Saturn and Sun research secure awards for space scientists

Two University of Reading scientists have won major awards for their work on space, from the giant planets of our solar system to the Sun’s influence on Earth.

Dr James O’Donoghue has won an award named after the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He received the Academic Study/Research – Individual award at the 2026 Sir Arthur Clarke Awards, held at the RAF Club in London on Tuesday 27 October. The judges recognised him for advancing frontier planetary science while bringing it to the public on a huge scale.

Professor Michael Lockwood has received the 2026 Distinguished Scientist Award from the international Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP). The award recognises his decades of research on how the Sun and Earth are connected, as well as his scientific leadership and mentoring.

Planets and public engagement

Now in their 21st year, the Sir Arthur Clarke Awards are organised by the British Interplanetary Society with the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation. This year’s awards drew 69 nominations across ten categories, and a panel of 51 judges chose the winners over two rounds of voting.

Dr O’Donoghue’s work includes:

●Research on the upper atmospheres of the giant planets in our solar system

●Nearly 100 educational animations on space and planetary science, viewed more than 400 million times across platforms

●Organising ‘Observe the Moon Night’, an annual stargazing event that has drawn hundreds of people to the University of Reading campus. This year’s event featured Moon samples from NASA’s Apollo missions.

In May, Dr O’Donoghue was announced as the recipient of the 2026 Carl Sagan medal from the American Astronomical Society, which he received last week. The medal honours outstanding public communication by an active planetary scientist.

Dr James O’Donoghue, University of Reading, said: “It’s a real honour to be recognised by the UK space community, especially with an award named after Arthur C. Clarke. His work inspired generations to think about the Universe in new and interesting ways. My research focuses on understanding the planets Jupiter and Saturn, uncovering how they work and how they interact with the space around them. There’s still so much we don’t understand about our own Solar System, and it’s exciting to be part of discovering something new.”

The Sun and Earth

Professor Lockwood, a Fellow of the Royal Society, is one of the world’s leading researchers on how the Sun affects the space around Earth.

Among a number of key discoveries, he found that the Sun’s magnetic field reaching out into space roughly doubled during much of the 20th century. SCOSTEP said this finding  “fundamentally changing scientific understanding” of how the Sun varies over the long term, and opened up a new area of research and played a leading role in establishing the field of space climate.

He has supervised or co-supervised more than 30 PhD students, many of whom now hold senior roles at universities, research institutes and space agencies around the world.

Professor Michael Lockwood, University of Reading, said: “The Sun shapes the space around our planet in ways we’re still uncovering, and that matters more than ever now that we rely on satellites and power grids that it can disrupt. I’m delighted the international solar-terrestrial physics community has recognised this work, and seeing my former students carry it forward is hugely rewarding.”