Vishnu Reddy, a University of North Dakota graduate student is the
recipient of the 2007 Eugene M Shoemaker Impact Cratering Award. The
award is presented by the Planetary Geology Division of the
Geological Society of America to support graduate research worldwide
in the fields of geology, geophysics, geochemistry, astronomy, or
biology. The award was announced at a special session during the GSA
annual meeting in Philadelphia honoring UND Space Studies professor Dr
Michael Gaffey, who was awarded the Gilbert Award.

Named after the famed planetary geologist Gene Shoemaker, the award,
which includes $2000, supports research on impact cratering processes,
the bodies (asteroidal or cometary) that make the impacts, or the
geological, chemical or biological results of impact cratering.
Reddy's research involves determining the diameter of
potentially- hazardous asteroids using near-infrared spectroscopy and
thermal modeling. The research will be conducted using the NASA
Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i. Reddy's proposal is
the first astronomically- based research selected by the selection
committee for the award.

Reddy is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth System
Science and Policy and works with Dr Gaffey in Space Studies.

Happy Sky Watching
Ratnesh Pandit