Adaptive Optics is a technique used by astronomers to counteract the effects of the Earth’s atmosphere on incoming light. Without it, images would be blurred and poor quality. Applying adaptive optics to the Sun however, posed a significant challenge. Normally the technique uses point-sources like stars or lasers. However, the Sun has no such features. Dr. Rimmele developed a technique for solar adaptive optics, which has resulted in taking the highest resolution pictures of the Sun’s surface with the Inouye Solar Telescope last year.

Dr. Rimmele joins a long list of reputable recipients, including William Borucki for the development of high-precision transit photometry techniques that enabled NASA’s Kepler mission, the New Horizons instrument team for their work imaging Pluto, and Samuel Moseley for his contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope.