Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal

Dr. Steve B. Howell to receive the 2026 Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Daly City, California - September 3, 2026 – The Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal was established by Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American philanthropist and patroness of astronomy. The ASP presents the medal annually to a professional astronomer in recognition of a lifetime of outstanding achievement and contributions to astrophysics research. It was first awarded in 1898 to Simon Newcomb. Previous recipients of the Bruce Medal include Giovanni V. Schiaparelli (1902), Edwin Hubble (1938), Fred Hoyle (1970), Vera Rubin (2003), and more recently Marcia Rieke (2023) for her contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope.

The recipient of the 2026 Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal is Dr. Steve B. Howell, senior research scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. He currently leads the NASA high-resolution imaging program supporting exoplanet science related to the Kepler Space Telescope, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, JWST, and the upcoming ESA Ariel Space Telescope mission and the NASA Habitable World Space Observatory (HWO). 

Dr. Howell’s distinguished career has advanced our understanding of our own Solar System, stellar astrophysics, exoplanet, distant galaxies and interacting binary stars. He has led scientific teams for multiple international space missions, and his work in instrumentation revolutionized digital imaging space and ground-based telescope imaging. He shares his passion for science and discovery through his community service in formal and informal STEM education.  

Starting in the early 1980s following two Masters Degrees, one in Astronomy from Penn State University, and one in Physics from the University of Toledo, Howell went to Kitt Peak National Observatory as the Charged Couple Device (CCD) Instrumentation Lead. His research on the use of digital image sensors used in telescopes led to a series of published papers that created the fundamental techniques astronomers use today to process images and measure light from celestial objects using CCD’s on ground-based telescopes. He then adapted these techniques at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for space missions working on the Galileo Mission’s CCD imaging calibration team. 

While doing scientific research at the Planetary Science Institute, Howell obtained his PhD in 1995 from the University of Amsterdam defending Photometric Observations of Faint Cataclysmic Variables. He published a set of landmark papers to explain how two stars orbiting closely together, below a well-known “period gap” between 2-3 hours, contained a donor star that lost so much mass that its true mass was dramatically lower than standard astronomical models assumed for its size. 

Howell’s use of his pioneering techniques mid-career led him to his world leadership across studies in variable stars, interacting binaries, cataclysmic variables and exoplanets. As project scientist for NASA’s groundbreaking Kepler and post-Kepler K2 missions Dr. Howell’s pioneering techniques for obtaining precision time series photometry helped discover over 2600 exoplanets.

Howell led the team that designed and built identical speckle cameras for the Gemini North and Gemini South, twin 8.1-meter optical and infrared telescopes placed strategically in both the northern (Hawai’i) and southern hemispheres (Chile). These two instruments, `Alopeke and Zorro, provide astronomers with combined access to the entire night sky. The goal of these cameras is to take thousands of very short exposure images, combine them mathematically using Fourier techniques, and obtain a resulting image free of the variation of atmospheric turbulence. This gives ground-based telescopes space-based image resolution. As a collaborator expressed, Howell’s “combination of designing outstanding instrumentation for the community, and using it to do cutting-edge science, is an inspiration for all astronomers.”

Dr. Howell’s research papers are widely cited for his leadership in scientific accomplishments and pioneering techniques. One nominator notes specifically how Howell’s “2014 The K2 Mission: Characterization and Early Results laid out the rationale and early results of the post-Kepler K2 Mission. When the mission adopted a new approach to pointing, after the Kepler spaceship was unable to point precisely to maintain its original, continuous survey of exoplanets in a fixed region of the sky, K2 allowed Kepler to continue observing stars in various fields of view.”

A pioneer, a collaborator, and a global leader in research, Dr. Howell  is equally praised and admired for his mentorship of hundreds of students and graduate students, and as advisor for 14 post-doctoral scholars. He brings the science and wonder of exploration and the natural world through sound, music, cooking, chemistry, reading, and writing. As a colleague of over 30 years stated “He takes great pride in mentoring and teaching anyone of any age and of any background – from seasoned  astronomers looking to learn new techniques to high school students just learning to explore their excitement for science.”

Dr. Howell has written over 1325 scientific publications, articles, technical books, and invited book chapters and received over 20 prestigious awards from leading space and scientific organizations such as NASA, NOAO and the Optical Society of America.  His widely known “Handbook of CCD Astronomy” is used world-wide as the textbook for understanding and using CCD detectors in astronomy. His career leaves a lasting legacy across every facet of modern astronomy—from pioneering the use of CCDs and building next-generation ground and space instruments to advancing university research and inspiring the public through education and outreach. 

Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal

Awarded since 1898 for a lifetime of outstanding research in astronomy

Established by Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American philanthropist and patroness of astronomy, our highest award is given annually by the ASP to a professional astronomer in recognition of a lifetime of outstanding achievement and contributions to astrophysics research. The medal has gone to some of the greatest astronomers of the past century and was first awarded in 1898 to Simon Newcomb. Previous recipients of the Bruce Medal include Giovanni V. Schiaparelli (1902), Edwin Hubble (1938), Fred Hoyle (1970), and Vera Rubin (2003).

Please contact our Awards team if you have questions about the nomination process.