The American Geophysical Union (AGU) has announced the recipients of its 2026 honors, which each year recognize scientists for their outstanding contributions to Earth and space sciences, as well as to education, science communication and outreach. Athena Coustenis, planetary scientist at the Laboratoire Instrumentation et Recherche en Astrophysique (LIRA) of the Observatoire de Paris – PSL, is among the scientists honored this year.
Athena Coustenis will receive the Charles A. Whitten Medal, awarded every two years by AGU to a senior scientist for outstanding achievements in research on the form and dynamics of the Earth and planets. The medal recognizes research in fields including planetary sciences, geodesy, geophysics, seismology and tectonophysics. It adds to a long list of international honors and distinctions (see our previous article).
The awards ceremony will take place during the AGU Annual Meeting, held in San Francisco from 7 to 11 December 2026.
