Juris Kalvāns, the leading researcher of the Ventspils International Radioastronomy Centre (VIRAC), has been accepted as a full-fledged individual member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU's objective is to further the advancement of astronomy, and it has over 12,000 members who are scientists from 106 countries. This event is a significant appraisal of the researchers' scientific achievements and a statement for the Latvian Cosmos research infrastructure, of which the primary tractive power is VIRAC.

Statutes regulate the IAU member acceptance process. To become a full-fledged individual member, the VIRAC researcher had to go through a multi-step application process and get approval from the IAU Executive Committee. Juris Kalvāns was picked as the fittest candidate by the Latvian National Committee, which, together with the University of Latvia, represents Latvia in the IAU. Juris Kalvāns has met the expected education qualifications – a doctoral degree – and has proven himself with high-quality scientific publications and work in the VIRAC. As the researcher himself admits, being a full-fledged individual member of the IAU means having the opportunity to vote on astronomical issues that influence the scientific society and each of us. The 2006 decision to remove Pluto from the list of planets is a visible example of how an IAU decision impacted what students learned about the Solar System in geography classes. Until this IAU General Assembly decision, Pluto was one of the Solar System’s nine planets; however, it is now classified as a dwarf planet, and the Solar System contains eight planets.

Latvia is represented in the IAU by 12 individual members, five of which are VIRAC leading researchers – Juris Freimanis, Boriss Rjabovs, Ivars Šmelds, Juris Žagars, and recently admitted Juris Kalvāns. Six individual members are current and former University of Latvia scientists and an IT expert and populariser of astronomy Mārtiņš Gills.

The business card of Juris Kalvāns with the list of scientific publications is accessible here.