Call for Nominations for RASC National Awards

By Mary Lou Whitehorne, Awards Committee Chair

Do you know someone who has done outstanding work in the RASC? Do they qualify for one of the RASC’s national awards? A list of national awards is given below. Please look within your Centre, and among our unattached members, for those bright and shining stars that deserve recognition. Go to rasc.ca/rasc-awards to check the requirements for these national awards, think about the contributions of those hard working RASC members that you know, and nominate them for an award. Now is the time! Nominations are due on 31 December 2012.

RASC National Awards

The RASC sponsors several annual national awards that recognize achievement or service by our members. These awards include:

The Chant Medal is awarded, not more than once a year, to an amateur astronomer resident in Canada on the basis of the value of the work carried out in astronomy and closely allied fields, for original investigation, and specifically not for services to the Society, worthy though these may be.

The Ken Chilton Prize is awarded annually to an amateur astronomer resident in Canada, in recognition of a significant piece of astronomical work carried out or published recently.

The new Qilak Award for Astronomy Outreach and Communication recognizes individual Canadian residents, or teams of residents, who have made an outstanding contribution, during a particular time period, either to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy in Canada, or to informal astronomy education in Canada, and to promote such activities among the members of the sponsoring organizations.

The Service Award is given to members in recognition of outstanding service, rendered over an extended period of time, where such service has had a major impact on the work of the Society and/or of a Centre of the Society.

The Simon Newcomb Award is intended to encourage members to write on the topic of astronomy for the Society or the general public, and to recognize the best published works through an annual award.

More detail, including eligibility and nomination requirements for each award can be found at rasc.ca/rasc-awards. Click on the links to individual awards for full information.

The deadline for nominations is 2012 December 31. Send your letters of nomination or questions about the awards program to Mary Lou Whitehorne, Awards Committee Chair at: mlwhitehorne@hfx.eastlink.ca