Bruno Rossi prize to Marco Tavani and the AGILE Team

The 2012 Rossi Prize has been awarded to astrophysicist Marco Tavani and the AGILE team for the discovery of variable gamma-ray emission from the Crab Nebula. Believed to be a steady source of energy – from optical to gamma rays – this finding has changed our understanding of cosmic accelerators. “The production of these incredible gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula is a feat that will lead us to a deeper understanding of the fundamental processes of particle acceleration in cosmic sources,” said Dr. Tavani. “AGILE unveiled this phenomenon in part because of its rapid data acquisition and processing – a large success for a ‘Small Mission’.” The AAS High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) awards the Rossi Prize in recognition of significant contributions as well as recent and original work in high-energy astrophysics. The prize is in honor of Professor Bruno Rossi, an authority on cosmic-ray physics and a pioneer in the field of X-ray astronomy. Dr. Tavani will give a lecture at the 221st AAS meeting in Long Beach, California, in January 2013.

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