On March 13, Pieternel Levelt, an associate director of the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR), received the 2026 Snellius Medal. The Snellius medal is a prestigious award that is only given once every ten years by the Dutch Society for the Promotion of Natural Sciences, Medicine, and Surgery.

Levelt leads NSF NCAR’s Atmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling Laboratory (ACOM) and is also an adjunct professor at Delft University of Technology and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). The award recognizes Levelt’s groundbreaking contributions to the development and implementation of satellite observations of trace gases in the atmosphere as well as her leadership in the development and advanced scientific satellite instrumentation. 

“The jury discussed many nominations for this award. Ultimately, the choice fell unanimously on Pieternel Levelt and her exceptional team, which has proven capable of connecting fundamental optics with great societal relevance,” said Stan Bentvelsen, who chaired the jury for the award.

Read the full news release on the Society for the Promotion of Natural Sciences, Medicine, and Surgery’s website. 

About ACOM:

ACOM leads and supports community-driven research addressing air quality and Earth system challenges. By developing world-class instruments, models, and facilities, ACOM integrates fundamental chemistry and atmospheric observations with numerical modeling to accelerate scientific advancements in atmospheric chemistry from molecular to global scales.

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