NAS Member Receives the 2026 Craaford Prize in Geosciences

Photo by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced that the 2026 Craaford Prize in Geosciences is awarded to NAS member Veerabhadran Ramanathan for fundamental contributions to our understanding of how aerosol particles and other climate pollutants influence the atmospheric energy balance and the Earth system.

“He has expanded our view of how humankind is affecting the atmosphere’s composition, the climate and air quality, and how these three interact,” says Ilona Riipinen, professor of atmospheric sciences at Stockholm University and member of the Crafoord Prize Committee for Geosciences.

The Crafoord Prize is awarded in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Crafoord Foundation in Lund, Sweden. The Academy is responsible for selecting the laureates. The disciplines, which change every year, are mathematics and astronomy, polyarthritis (systemic diseases that cause inflammation in the joints) geosciences and biosciences. The 2026 prize is in geosciences.

The prize will be awarded in conjunction with Crafoord Days in Lund and Stockholm, 18–20 May and will be presented to the laureate by H. M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.