Inaugural Dunlap Award for Innovation in Astronomical Research Tools – June 2014

In June 2014, the Canadian Astronomical Society Société Canadienne d’Astronomie will present the inaugural Dunlap Award for Innovation in Astronomical Research Tools at the society’s annual meeting in Quebec City.

The Dunlap Award is to be presented to an individual or team for the design, invention, or improvement of instrumentation or software that has enabled significant advances in astronomy.

Suresh 2-RG detector_8546_300pxIt is made possible through a gift from the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto. The award consists of a monetary prize and a certificate, and will be presented every two years.

“Advances in astronomy depend critically on high quality data,” says Peter Martin, former president of CASCA and the Dunlap Institute’s interim director, “and so Canada’s contributions internationally to breakthrough discoveries are inextricably linked to innovation in astronomical instrumentation and observing techniques.”

The Dunlap Institute was established in 2008 at the U of T to be a global leader in research, training, and outreach.  Its mandate includes developing advanced observing techniques and innovative astronomical instrumentation, embracing imagers, detectors, adaptive optics, and spectrographs for the largest, most advanced telescopes in the world.

The nominee, or leader of a nominated team, will be a member of CASCA and a Canadian astronomer or an astronomer working in Canada.

Nominations can be made beginning immediately, until 15 January 2014. Details regarding the requirements of the nomination package can be found on the CASCA website.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:

Chris Sasaki
Communications and New Media Specialist
Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics
University of Toronto
50 St. George Street
Toronto, Canada
M5S 3H4
e: csasaki@dunlap.utoronto.ca
p: 416-978-6613

Leslie Sage
CASCA press officer
e: cascapressofficer@gmail.com
p: +1 301 675 8957

The Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto, continues the legacy of the David Dunlap Observatory: by developing innovative astronomical instrumentation; by its passionate commitment to training the next generation of astronomers; and by fostering public engagement in science. The research of its faculty and postdoctoral fellows spans the breadth and depth of the Universe, and includes: the discovery of exoplanets, the formation of stars, galactic nuclei, the evolution and nature of galaxies, the early Universe and the Cosmic Microwave Background, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

www.dunlap.utoronto.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dunlapinstitute
Twitter: @dunlapinstitute

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