YEREVAN — Prof. Ed van den Heuvel of the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy in the Netherlands, Professors Alexander Tutukov and Lev Yungelson of the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been honored with the Viktor Ambartsumian International Science Prize
The scholars have been awarded for their pioneering work in the field of research on heavy double stars and in particular the formation of relativistic double stars and sources of gravitational waves.
The prize, named after famous Armenian astronomer Viktor Ambartsumian, comes with an award of $300,000.
The prize is awarded every two years to outstanding scientists who have made a significant contribution to science. In addition to the cash prize of $300,000, the prize consists of a certificate and a medal.
Of the money, $100,000 must be spent on the development of astrophysics and related research areas in Armenia and for Armenian students, and on the popularization of the work of the prize winners.
The prize was handed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
