[1] The lectureship and cash prize are awarded every eighteen months to an individual or group who, by his or her passion for research and dedication to excellence, has produced a body of work in observational astronomy which has resulted in a significant deepening of our understanding of the universe.
[citation needed] Fourteen previous Aaronson Prize winners are returning to Tucson on Apr 3–4, 2017, for a scientific symposium[2] in Marc's honor.
Aaronson came to Steward Observatory as a postdoc after receiving his PhD degree from Harvard in 1977 and became an Associate Professor in 1983.
Aaronson made important contributions to the understanding of stellar populations in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
In recognition of his research achievements, Aaronson was awarded the George Van Biesbroeck Award by the University of Arizona in 1981, the Bart J. Bok Prize by Harvard University in 1983, and the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize by the American Astronomical Society in 1984.