As an ambassador, Dr. Madhulika “Lika” Guhathakurta demonstrates a unique ability to bind the space weather community in a spirit of cooperation and inclusive engagement, educating and energizing audiences within and beyond those who carry out the research. As the effects of solar activity and space weather phenomena on daily lives, the environment and space systems become more and more prevalent, the need to collaborate and cooperate with the international community becomes increasingly important. Lika consistently provides colleagues and students with opportunities to advance professionally and develop their skills. These efforts have led to the formation of diverse teams that include individuals of various ethnicities, nationalities, backgrounds, career stages and expertise. In particular, her longtime leadership of the Living With a Star Program infrastructure-building component has resulted in summer schools, textbooks, workshops, institutes, curricula and postdoctoral positions that have promoted professional growth and a vehicle for meeting future workforce needs. She devotes much of her time to program advocacy, competing with other agencies and working cooperatively with them. She served on the National Committee for Space Weather, where her initiatives have achieved the cooperation of U.S. agencies, many foreign space agencies and even the United Nations in shepherding the generation of science programs. Lika founded cooperative programs with the American Museum of Natural History and initiated a unique research program for the community and the public to develop innovative ideas, including citizen science, to maximize the knowledge obtained from solar eclipses. As a result, millions of people worldwide could participate in the eclipse data collection. Education, outreach and mentoring are especially strong passions for Lika. She participates in dozens of media interviews annually, supports educational initiatives within the U.S. and the international community, develops content and lectures at planetariums and museums, and expends a great deal of effort to encourage students and young scientists. In addition, she nurtures younger members, students and professionals in her field, providing them with a brilliant, effective, successful and gracious role model as a leader and a world-class scientist. Her special contributions to AGU’s goals include organizing AGU sessions on interdisciplinary topics that promote new research programs and directions in heliophysics and space science. Her influences on the world of space weather and related science run wide and deep and will continue to affect future generations and their endeavors for decades to come. 

— Alexander Kosovichev New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, New Jersey 

— Janet Luhmann University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California