Awards

JPL is recognized by NASA, the AIAA, and the electric propulsion community for its sustained excellence in electric propulsion technology development and implementation. As of February 2024:

• 2015 Collier Trophy, (press release) for NASA's Dawn mission - “In recognition of the extraordinary achievements of orbiting and exploring protoplanet Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, and advancing the nation’s technological capabilities in pioneering new frontiers in space travel."
• 18 AIAA Electric Propulsion Best Paper Awards since 1992
• 4 International Electric Propulsion Conference “Best Paper” awards since 1993
• AIAA Electric Propulsion Outstanding Technical Achievement Award
  • 2009: Dr. John Brophy for outstanding leadership and technical contributions in the implementation of ion propulsion systems on NASA explorations missions
  • 2014: I.G. Mikellides, I. Katz, R. R Hofer, D. M. Goebel for the identification, development, and demonstration of Magnetic Shielding in Hall Thrusters
  • 2017: V. Hruby, D. Spence, N. Demmons, T. Roy, E. Ehrbar, J. Zwahlen, R. Martin, J. Ziemer, T. Randolph, S. Rhodes, W. Connolly, W. Tolman for successful flight demonstration of a micro-Newton colloid electrospray propulsion system on the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft
• 1st book on EP in 40 years: D.M. Goebel and I. Katz, Fundamentals of Electric Propulsion; Ion and Hall Thrusters, John Wiley & Sons, NY, 2008
  • 2nd book on EP in 15 years: D.M. Goebel, I. Katz, and I.G. Mikellides, Fundamentals of Electric Propulsion; Ion and Hall Thrusters, John Wiley & Sons, NY, 2nd edition, 2023
• 192 articles in peer-reviewed journals (1987-2022) and over 685 conference paper publications (1985-2022)
• National Academy of Engineering – John Brophy and Dan Goebel
• AIAA Fellows – John Brophy, Dan Goebel, Richard Hofer, Ioannis Mikellides, and James Polk
• IEEE Fellow – Dan Goebel
• APS Fellow – Dan Goebel
• National Academy of Inventors – Dan Goebel
• JPL Fellows – John Brophy and Dan Goebel
• JPL Senior Research Scientists – Dan Goebel and Ioannis Mikellides
• JPL Principal Engineers – John Brophy, Dan Goebel, Richard Hofer, Ira Katz, Ioannis Mikellides, James Polk, Steve Snyder, and John Ziemer
• NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal – John Brophy, Charles Garner, Dan Goebel, Richard Hofer, Ira Katz, Ioannis Mikellides
• NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal – James Polk
• NASA Early Career Achievement Medal – Alejandro Lopez Ortega
• JPL Lew Allen Awards for Technical Excellence – Richard Hofer, Ioannis Mikellides, Juergen Mueller
• JPL Charles Elachi Award – Vernon Chaplin
• JPL Edward C. Stone Award for Outstanding Research Publication – Ioannis Mikellides
• AIAA Wyld Propulsion Award – John Brophy
• Electric Rocket Propulsion Society’s Ernst Stuhlinger Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Electric Propulsion – John Brophy, Dan Goebel
• AIAA Pickering Lecture – John Brophy (2019)
• AIAA Space Systems Award – Deep Space 1 (2002) and Dawn (2018)
• National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement – Dawn (2014)
• John L. "Jack" Swigert, Jr., Award for Space Exploration – Dawn (2019)
• SpaceOps Award for Outstanding Achievement – Dawn (2021)

Each year the AIAA Electric Propulsion Technical Committee (EPTC) selects a technical paper for "Best Paper in Electric Propulsion" from those presented at AIAA conferences. The award is selected after a peer-review and voting process from members of the EPTC. Below are citations from papers with JPL authors that have received this award.

The Electric Rocket Propulsion Society (ERPS) organizes the International Electric Propulsion Conference (IEPC) every two years. After the conference, ERPS selects a Best Paper. The award is selected after a peer-review and voting process from members of the ERPS. Below are citations from papers with JPL authors that have received this award.