Astrophysicist and Ohio State alumnus awarded Joseph Sullivant Medal

Astrophysicist and Ohio State alumnus awarded Joseph Sullivant Medal

Award is one of the most prestigious honors university bestows on its alumni

Lars Bildsten, the Frederick W. Gluck Chair in Theoretical Physics and director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is the 2026 recipient of The Ohio State University's Joseph Sullivant Medal. The university Board of Trustees approved the award today (June 3).

The Sullivant Medal was created in 1920 by Thomas Mendenhall, one of Ohio State's founding faculty and a professor of physics and mechanics. Its namesake, Joseph Sullivant, was a member of the university's first Board of Trustees and greatly influenced the university's development and educational character.

"Professor Bildsten's research into the behavior of stars advances our understanding of the universe. His ongoing support of Ohio State's academic community makes him an exceptional alumnus and a worthy recipient of the Sullivant Medal," said Ohio State President Ravi V. Bellamkonda. "Researchers and scholars like him inspire us toward greater discovery and a relentless commitment to academic excellence."

Awarded just once every five years, the medal is one of the most prestigious honors Ohio State bestows on its alumni and current faculty, recognizing extraordinary scholarly achievement.

"It's a wonderful honor. I was really excited to get the news, and then upon reading more about Joseph Sullivant and understanding his impact in Ohio and at the university, I'm just very honored to have an acknowledgment in his name," Bildsten said.

He is a theoretical astrophysicist recognized for his work on the properties and behavior of stars, both when they burn their thermonuclear fuel for billions of years and when they explode as supernovae or emit gravitational waves.

Bildsten grew up in Chillicothe before moving to Worthington. He started taking classes at Ohio State as a high school student. He obtained his undergraduate degree in engineering physics from Ohio State in 1985 and has maintained close ties to the astronomy and physics departments at Ohio State over many years.

"I definitely lean into providing assistance to those institutions that I've been at over my career," he said. "I have a strong interest in seeing the institutions continue to excel. It's particularly exciting when you see what happened at Ohio State, which was a tremendous growth in stature within my research field of astrophysics."

Christopher Kochanek, Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor in Ohio State's Department of Astronomy, sponsored Bildsten's nomination for the Sullivant Medal. Kochanek noted Bildsten's lasting relationship with the astronomy and physics departments, including hosting a public lecture on "Hearing the Stars" in March of 2025, and that he regularly contributes his support to the department's endeavors.

"Lars is one of the world's leading authorities on exotic stars and on the spectacular stellar explosions that create most of the atoms our everyday world is made of. He leads the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara, a unique institution that brings together physicists from around the world and sparks breakthrough ideas," Kochanek said. "He has been a great supporter of astrophysics at Ohio State, and I am delighted that the university is recognizing his contributions with the Joseph Sullivant Medal."

Bildsten was the 2000 Edwin Salpeter Lecturer at Cornell University, the 2004 Biermann Lecturer at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, the 2010 Beatrice M. Tinsley Centennial Visiting Professor at UT Austin, the 2014 Bishop Lecturer at Columbia University, and the 2023 J. Robert Oppenheimer Lecturer at UC Berkeley.

He was awarded the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics in 2017, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2018 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2026. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and the American Astronomical Society.

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