Anja Andersen receives the Danish Physical Society’s Communication Award

Anja Andersen, associate professor at the Dark Cosmology Centre at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, has received the International Year of Light Communication Award from the Danish Physical Society. The award will be presented at the society’s annual meeting on 12 November at Aarhus University.

In celebration of UNESCO declaring 2015 the Year of Light, the Danish National Committee for the Year of Light, in collaboration with the Danish Physical Society, is awarding a communication prize of 10,000 kroner to a researcher who has managed to spread knowledge about light in physics, chemistry or optics to the broader public. Among the nominated, the clear choice was Associate Professor Anja Andersen from the Niels Bohr Institute, who has communicated knowledge about physics and astronomy broadly out into society for many years.

Light from space

Without light, there would be no astronomy, astrophysics or cosmology. Our knowledge about the universe is carried to Earth by light with many wavelengths, which has provided us with knowledge about other planets, stars, galaxies, black holes and the ‘Big Bang’. Along with her work as a researcher and lecturer in cosmology, Anja Andersen has made a great effort to communicate her knowledge about how light from space has made it possible to understand the near and distant universe. She has also explained how our current knowledge about the universe is based on years of research into how to improve the technique for receiving light and radio waves and that it has cost thousands of work years in scientific and technological development.

Anja Andersen is a member of numerous boards in both research and communication. She has already received numerous awards for her communication and in 2014 alone, she held 30 lectures and has been a frequent guest in the media.

Against this background, the evaluation committee has chosen Anja Andersen as the award winner for Year of the Light Communication Award. The award will be presented by. scient. Jørgen Schou, Chairman of the Danish Physical Society at the society’s annual meeting on 12 November at Aarhus University.

By the Danish Physical Society

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