The 2012 Rossi Prize has been awarded to astrophysicist Marco Tavani and the AGILE team for the discovery of variable gamma-ray emission from the Crab Nebula. Believed to be a steady source of energy – from optical to gamma rays – this finding has changed our understanding of cosmic accelerators. “The production of these incredible gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula is a feat that will lead us to a deeper understanding of the fundamental processes of particle acceleration in cosmic sources,” said Dr. Tavani. “AGILE unveiled this phenomenon in part because of its rapid data acquisition and processing – a large success for a ‘Small Mission’.” The AAS High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) awards the Rossi Prize in recognition of significant contributions as well as recent and original work in high-energy astrophysics. The prize is in honor of Professor Bruno Rossi, an authority on cosmic-ray physics and a pioneer in the field of X-ray astronomy. Dr. Tavani will give a lecture at the 221st AAS meeting in Long Beach, California, in January 2013.