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International Steering Committee of V. Ambartsumian International Science Prize issued a statement noting that the prize will not be awarded this year, as among the nominated candidates there was no reliable nominee to fit all conditions of the Prize.

“V. Ambartsumian International Science Prize has been established by the President of Armenia in 2009 and at present is one of the important awards in astronomy/astrophysics and related sciences. It is being awarded to outstanding scientists from any country and nationality having significant contribution in science. The Prize totals USD 500,000 and since 2010 is being awarded once every two years.

The International Steering Committee (ISC) consists of 9 outstanding scientists: Acad. Radik Martirosyan (President of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, Armenia, ISC Chair), Prof. Catherine Cesarsky (Saclay Centre for Nuclear Research, France, Past International Astronomical Union President), Prof. Anatol Cherepashchuk (Director of Sternberg State Astronomical Institute, Moscow, Russia, academician), Prof. Norio Kaifu (Past General Director, Japan National Astronomical Observatory, Tokyo, Japan, Past International Astronomical Union President), Prof. Michel Mayor (Geneva University, Switzerland, First Winner of V. Ambartsumian International Science Prize), Prof. Vahe Petrosian (Chair of Astronomy Program, Stanford University, California, USA, NAS RA Foreign Member), Prof. Brian Schmidt (Australian National University, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mount Stromlo Observatory, Canberra, Australia, 2011 Nobel Prize Winner), Prof. Joseph Silk (Professor of Oxford University and Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), Member of the Royal Society, UK) and Prof. Yervant Terzian (Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA, Chair of the Scientific Council of the Armenian National Science and Educational Fund, NAS RA Foreign Member).
According to the By-Laws, 2016 Prize was announced on September 18, 2015, March 18, 2016 was the deadline for nominations of candidates, and the ISC received nominations from national academies of sciences, universities, observatories and astronomical institutions for 6 individual scientists and teams from different countries: Armenia, Brazil, France, Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine and some other countries representing the team members. The nominated works were sent to famous independent experts of the given field suggested by ISC members and at least two referee reports were received for each work. The International Steering Committee, based on a thorough study of the nominated works, discussions and independent evaluation, summarized its opinion at a Teleconference meeting held on July 15.

According to ISC, V. Ambartsumian International Science Prize will not be awarded this year, as among the nominated candidates there was no reliable nominee to fit all conditions of the Prize.
Previous winners were:

2010 – Michel Mayor (Obs. de Genève, Switzerland), Garik Israelian (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Spain), Nuno Santos (Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, Portugal)

2012 – Jaan Einasto (Tartu Observatory, Estonia) and Igor Novikov (Astro-Space Center, P.N. Lebedev Physics Institute, Russia)

2014 – Felix Aharonian (Ireland and Germany), and jointly Igor Karachentsev (Russia) and Brent Tully (USA),

2016 – The Prize was not awarded.
The Call for the next Prize will be released on September 18, 2017 and the award will take place in September 2018,” the statement reads.