Warwick astronomer wins prestigious Royal Astronomical Society Award

This year’s Royal Astronomical Society Fowler Award for early achievement in astronomy has been awarded to University of Warwick’s Dr. Ingrid Pelisoli for noteworthy discoveries related to binary star systems and stellar mergers.

Dr. Ingrid Pelisoli, Assistant Professor in the Astronomy and Astrophysics group, University of Warwick said: “I am extremely honoured to have received the 2026 RAS Fowler Award. This is a lovely recognition of the importance of the research my group and I carry out on white dwarf binary systems, which play a significant role in our understanding of the Universe. I was particularly happy to see my commitment to mentorship as one of the highlighted reasons behind the award, as I truly value and enjoy working with the next generation of scientists.

“There are exciting times ahead of us with more data from both new and existing missions, and my group and I are looking forward to continuing our work in understanding the many pathways of binary evolution, the origins of type Ia supernovae, and other amazing things white dwarf binaries can teach us.”

This award recognises several pieces of notable work from Dr Pelisoli and her collaborators including:

• Demonstrating that part of the reason we do not find many progenitors of type Ia supernova – the stellar explosions used to measure the accelerated expansion of the Universe – in our Galaxy is simply observational bias. With dedicated searches, Dr Pelisoli and her group have uncovered new and nearby systems that will face an explosive fate (Pelisoli et al. 2021; Munday, Pakmor, Pelisoli et al. 2025).
• Showing that stellar mergers can generate magnetic fields more than a million times stronger than that of the Sun, but only under certain conditions, solving a puzzle as to why some, but not all, stars form them. (Pakmor, Pelisoli et al. 2024).
• Discovering additional white dwarf pulsars – an exceedingly rare type of binary system that shows periodic radio pulses – showing this type of system is a class and not unique. (Pelisoli et al. 2023; Castro Segura, Pelisoli et al. 2025).

Professor Danny Steeghs, Head of the Astronomy & Astrophysics group at Warwick, said: “I am delighted that Ingrid’s sustained impact on white dwarf binaries research has been recognised through the Fowler award. This has historically been an area of strength and expertise for the wider Warwick astrophysics group, and Ingrid has injected new energy and initiative into this area, aligned with opportunities provided by new facilities and datasets.

"Beyond her personal research achievements, Ingrid is also an excellent role model. She is ambitious yet caring and collegial, and her approach to mentorship and training is highly commendable. We look forward to her future achievements and contributions.”

Professor Mike Lockwood, President of the RAS and a past Gold Medal winner, said: “I want to give my warmest congratulations to all the award winners.

"My thanks go to those who serve on our awards panels and the RAS staff who help them – they have done a truly fantastic job – and it is a very difficult job indeed because all the nominations were very deserving cases. I also want to thank all who submitted nominations for bringing all candidates to the attention of the panels. Reading about the work of the winners was genuinely uplifting and a pure delight.

“There is so much achievement recognised by the awards and also so much effort to spark interest in potential young scientists and to promote astronomy and geophysics.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact:

Matt Higgs, PhD | Media & Communications Officer (Warwick Press Office)

Email: Matt.Higgs@warwick.ac.uk | Phone: +44(0)7880 175403

About the University of Warwick

Founded in 1965, the University of Warwick is a world-leading institution known for its commitment to era-defining innovation across research and education. A connected ecosystem of staff, students and alumni, the University fosters transformative learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and bold industry partnerships across state-of-the-art facilities in the UK and global satellite hubs. Here, spirited thinkers push boundaries, experiment, and challenge convention to create a better world.

About the Fowler Award

The Fowler Award for early achievement in astronomy was established in 2004 through the generosity of Mrs Rosemary Fowler. The prize is awarded to individuals who have made a particularly noteworthy contribution to astronomy (including emerging areas), within 10 years of completing their PhD. This Award and the Fowler Award for early achievement in geophysics are named after father and son, Ralph, and Peter Fowler, two of the Royal Astronomical Society's most distinguished Fellows, and after Rosemary Fowler.

About the Royal Astronomical Society

The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science.The RAS organises scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognises outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 4,000 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.