Clive Neal, professor of civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences at the University of Notre Dame, has been awarded the 2026 Eugene Shoemaker Distinguished Scientist Medal by NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI).
Named after American geologist Eugene Shoemaker (1928-1997), one of the founders of planetary science, the award is given annually to a scientist who has significantly contributed throughout their career to understanding the Moon and other small bodies (such as asteroids, comets, and natural satellites) in our solar system.
Neal investigates the origin and evolution of the Moon and its “supervolcanoes,” using petrology, geochemistry, and geophysics. To uncover its turbulent history, Neal’s lab analyzes lunar samples to determine the composition of the Moon’s interior and explain the scars of cosmic impacts. He also investigates the accessibility of lunar resources with the aim of supporting a permanent human presence on the Moon or benefiting society back on Earth. As the co-chief editor of “New Views of the Moon 1 and 2” and author of over 150 peer-reviewed articles, Neal has helped shape modern understanding of lunar geology, environment, and resource potential. This research has informed his advocacy for human space exploration as well as international policy at the United Nations.
According to the SSERVI citation, Neal is a “lunar evangelist,” who is “passionate about establishing human permanence on the Moon in a way that benefits society here on Earth, while maximizing scientific return that enables commercial involvement.”
His leadership as a two-time chair of NASA’s Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) resulted in the “U.S. Lunar Exploration Roadmap”—the blueprint guiding America’s return to the Moon. His creation of the LEAG Commercial Advisory Board effectively bridged the gap between government space programs, academia, and the private aerospace sector. His achievements in bringing together planetary science and exploration earned him the prestigious NASA Wargo Award in 2015.
In May 2025 and April 2026, Neal was a private sector delegate to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space at the Legal Subcommittee meeting that addresses international space law topics such as treaties, space boundaries, national legislation, space debris, space resource activities and peaceful space cooperation. He advocated for international cooperation in using lunar resources for sustainable and international human space exploration, the development of a Moon-Earth economy, and developing an international lunar resource prospecting campaign.
Today, Neal’s expertise directly influences global space policy and governance. He serves in key advisory roles for the National Academies (NASEM), the European Space Agency (ESA), and private lunar lander organizations like ispace-US.
He will be presented with the Shoemaker Medal at the annual 2026 NASA Exploration Science Forum at Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA, July 21-23.
The award includes a framed certificate and a medal with a quote from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”: “And he will make the face of heaven so fine, that all the world will be in love with night.” This quote was etched onto the brass foil wrapping of the capsule that carried Eugene Shoemaker’s ashes to the lunar surface.
—Karla Cruise, Notre Dame Engineering