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Stamatios Krimigis

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Stamatios (Tom) M. Krimizis
Stamatios (Tom) M. Krimizis
Born
Stamatios M. Krimizis

(1938-09-10) September 10, 1938 (age 85)
Vrontados, Chios, Greece
Citizenship
  • Greece
  • United States
EmployerApplied Physics Laboratory
TitleHead Emeritus, Space Department
Scientific career
ThesisAn interplanetary diffusion model for the time behavior of intensity in a solar cosmic ray event (1965)
Doctoral advisorJames Van Allen

Stamatios (Tom) Mike Krimizis (Greek: Σταμάτιος Κριμιζής; born September 10, 1938) is a Greek-American scientist in space exploration. He has contributed to many of the United States' unmanned space exploration programs of the Solar System and beyond. He has contributed to exploration missions to almost every planet of the Solar System.[1][2] In 1999, the International Astronomical Union named the asteroid 8323 Krimigis (previously 1979 UH) in his honor.[2]

Biography[edit]

Stamatios Krimigis was born September 10, 1938 in Vrontados, Chios, Greece, where he completed his early education.[2] He then moved to the United States to further his studies. Krimigis earned a Bachelor of Physics from the University of Minnesota in 1961. He continued his education at the University of Iowa, where he received a Master of Science in 1963 and a Ph.D. in 1965 in Physics under the mentorship of renowned space scientist James Van Allen.[2]

He is Head Emeritus of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.[3][4] He holds the Chair of Science of Space at the Academy of Athens, Greece,[2][5] and serves as the President of the Greek National Council for Research and Technology.[1]

Krimigis is the only scientist in the world to lead or participate in space physics experiments on all nine classical planets. He has served as a principal investigator on five NASA missions, including the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, the Cassini Saturn Orbiter, and as a co-investigator on many others.[1][4]

Krimigis has designed, built, flown and analyzed data from 21 instruments in various NASA and European Space Agency missions.[2] His Low Energy Charged Particle Experiment (LECP) instrument flies aboard both Voyager spacecraft; on Voyager 1, LECP data was essential to determining that a spacecraft had left the solar system for the first time in 2012.[4][6] Krimigis was also instrumental in establishing NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost planetary missions, as well as the New Frontiers program, for which the APL-built New Horizons to Pluto was the first mission. He is also a co-investigator on the Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018.[7]

He is co-investigator for LAN/HI-SCALE on Ulysses solar polar orbiter, EPIC on GEOTAIL, EDP for Galileo mission, TRD on Mariner 3, and for the LECR on Mariner 4.[2][8] Krimigis has also worked on the Advanced Composition Explorer, the Mariner 5, MESSENGER and New Horizons programs.[8]

In 1986, Krimigis briefed President Reagan on the AMPTE mission. He also met with President Gorbachev in 1987 and President Bush in 1990 to discuss space exploration.[4][9]

In 2016, Krimigis received NASA's highest service honor, the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, for his lifelong efforts to advance space exploration and science.[10]

In 2017, Krimigis's contributions to the Voyager program were highlighted in the documentary film "The Farthest."[10]

Research contributions[edit]

Krimigis's research has focused on the study of the magnetospheres of planets and the heliosphere. His pioneering work on space instruments has contributed significantly to our understanding of space weather and the interactions between solar wind and planetary environments. His work with the Voyager spacecraft has provided invaluable data on the outer planets and the boundary of the solar system.

Krimigis's publication record spans from "Interplanetary diffusion model for time behavior of intensity in a solar cosmic ray event," published in the Journal of Geophysical Research in 1965, to "Search for the exit: Voyager 1 at heliosphere's border with the galaxy," published in Science in 2013. As a researcher, Krimigis has published nearly 600 articles in scientific journals and books, including ground-breaking findings on solar observations, planetary magnetospheres, and the charged particles that flood the space between the planets. Krimigis has over 21,000 citations, making him one of the most cited scientists in his field.[3][10]

Honors and awards[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Brief Curriculum Vitae and publications, Johns Hopkins University.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Europlanet Interview: Stamatios (Tom) Krimigis, Europlanet.
  3. ^ a b Mohr, Karen. "Stamatios (Tom) Krimigis Maniac Lecture | Earth". earth.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  4. ^ a b c d "Stamatios Krimigis". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  5. ^ a b "Press Release". Archived from the original on 2016-09-08.
  6. ^ "Voyager 1 Approaches Solar System's Outer Limits | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory". www.jhuapl.edu.
  7. ^ "Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab's Tom Krimigis Earns Top Honor from International Academy of Astronautics | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory". www.jhuapl.edu.
  8. ^ a b STAMATIOS M. KRIMIGIS. "STAMATIOS M. KRIMIGIS – Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  9. ^ "From Chios to the endless Universe". ellines.com. 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  10. ^ a b c "Applied Physics Laboratory Space Exploration Pioneer Tom Krimigis Receives NASA's Highest Service Award | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory". www.jhuapl.edu.
  11. ^ "APL Space Scientist Receives National Air and Space Museum's Lifetime Achievement Trophy | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory". www.jhuapl.edu.
  12. ^ "Announcement of ΕΕΦ Award" (PDF). University of Athens (in Greek). Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  13. ^ "Space Flight Award | American Astronautical Society".
  14. ^ "Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Space Scientist Honored as AAAS Fellow; Homeric Award Recipient | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory". www.jhuapl.edu.

External links[edit]

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