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To foster excellence, the Society awards nine prizes for outstanding contributions to astronomy. Through the Second Century Fund, the AAS is currently raising monies for existing prize endowments and for several new prizes.
With the exception of the Student Awards, AAS prize nominations are due to the AAS Secretary's Office by 1 October each year. ALL Society Members may submit nominations. A prize nomination form is published each year in the August AAS Newsletter and is posted online in the Members Only area. Read the short descriptions and recipient lists, elsewhere in this document, to verify eligibility. A complete nomination must include:
The Divisions award prizes for excellence in their fields of astronomy.
Additional awards are given in conjunction with other scientific organizations.
An education prize was awarded from 1992 - 1996, then discontinued. A new prize with a different name was established in 2000. Henry Norris Russell LectureshipThe Russell Lecturer is normally to be chosen annually on the basis of a lifetime of eminence in astronomical research. The award includes a suitably engraved scroll, an invitation to deliver a lecture dealing with a broad astronomical field at a meeting designated by the Council, travel expenses to the meeting at which the Lecture is given, and ten free pages for publications of the Lecture in a Society journal. The publication of the Lecture shall be arranged as agreeable to the Lecturer and the Council.
Top of Page | Prize Committee | Nomination Instructions Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in AstronomyThe Pierce Prize is normally awarded annually for outstanding achievement, over the past five years, in observational astronomical research based on measurements of radiation from an astronomical object. It is given to an astronomer who has not attained 36 years of age in the year designated for the award. The recipient shall be a resident of North America (including Hawaii and Puerto Rico) or a member of a North American institution, stationed abroad. The prize shall be a cash award of an amount established by the Council. The prize recipient shall be invited to present a paper on the subject for which the prize was granted at a meeting designated by the Council. No individual candidate is eligible for both the Warner and Pierce Prizes. Year Recipient Top of Page | Prize Committee | Nomination Instructions Helen B. Warner Prize for AstronomyThe Warner Prize is normally awarded annually for a significant contribution to observational or theoretical astronomy during the five years preceding the award. It is given to an astronomer who has not attained 36 years of age in the year designated for the award or must be within eight years of receipt of their Ph.D. degree. The recipient shall be a resident of North America (including Hawaii and Puerto Rico) or a member of a North American institution, stationed abroad. The prize shall be a cash award of an amount established by the Council. The prize recipient shall be invited to present a paper on the subject for which the prize was granted at a meeting designated by the Council. No individual candidate is eligible for both the Warner and Pierce Prizes. Year Recipient Top of Page | Prize Committee | Nomination Instructions Beatrice M. Tinsley PrizeThe Tinsley Prize recognizes an outstanding research contribution to astronomy or astrophysics, of an exceptionally creative or innovative character. The Prize is normally awarded every two years. No restrictions are placed on a candidate's citizenship or country of residency. Year Recipient Top of Page | Prize Committee | Nomination Instructions Joseph Weber Award for Astronomical InstrumentationThe AAS's Joseph Weber Award for Astronomical Instrumentation is to be awarded to an individual, of any nationality, for the design, invention or significant improvement of instrumentation (not software) leading to advances in astronomy. No restrictions are placed on a candidate's citizenship or country of residency. In order that the scientific impact of the instrumentation may be assessed properly, a considerable period of time may have elapsed between the development of the instrumentation and the granting of the Award. Year Recipient Dannie Heineman Prize for AstrophysicsThe Heineman Prize for Astrophysics is awarded jointly by the American Institute of Physics and the American Astronomical Society and is funded by the Heineman Foundation. It was established in 1979, to recognize outstanding work in the field of astrophysics. No restrictions are placed on a candidate's citizenship or country of residency. The official announcement of the Prize is made through the American Institute of Physics' Office of Public Relations. The prize is presented to the recipient at one of the semi-annual meetings of the AAS, after discussion between the awardee and the AAS Executive Office. At this meeting, the recipient is invited, but not required, to deliver a lecture on the subject for which the Prize was awarded. Travel expenses incurred by the recipient to attend the meeting are reimbursed by the American Institute of Physics from funds provided by the Heineman Foundation. Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics Committee
Year Recipient
George Van Biesbroeck PrizeThe Van Biesbroeck prize is normally awarded every two years and honors a living individual for long-term extraordinary or unselfish service to astronomy, often beyond the requirements of his or her paid position. The AAS assumed responsibility for the Prize in 1997. George Van Biesbroeck Prize Committee Year Recipient Education PrizeThe AAS Education Prize is to recognize outstanding contributions to the education of the public, students and/or the next generation of professional astronomers. Year Recipient Annenberg Foundation PrizeThe AAS-Annenberg Prize was awarded annually for five years in recognition of outstanding contributions to science education through astronomy. A new prize with a different name was established in 2000. Year Recipient Annie J. Cannon Award in AstronomyThe Annie Jump Cannon Award is given to a North American female astronomer within five years of receiving her PhD in the year designated for the award. The Cannon Prize is for outstanding research and promise for future research by a postdoctoral woman researcher. The prize will amount to $1500 and the winner will give an invited talk at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society and travel expenses will be paid. Self nominations will be allowed. A complete nomination for the Cannon Award includes the same basic materials as for other AAS prizes. In addition, nominators should request that the nominee submit a research plan of no more than three pages describing her anticipated course of work for the next five years. The plan should be broadly accessible to astronomers with a range of scientific interests. Contact the AAS Secretary for more information. Annenberg Foundation Prize Committee Year Recipient Award for Public Service to ScienceThis award is made in conjunction with the American Mathematical Society The awards will be given annually to up to four individuals who have performed outstanding public service in support of science. An ad-hoc AAS committee, appointed by the AAS President, meets in September of each year to select nominees to submit to a joint committee with members from each society. This joint committee then meets in late September or early October and selects the awardees. The awards are presented at a special ceremony on Capitol Hill at an appropriate time early the following year. Nominations for the award may be submitted at any time to the current chair of the Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy (CAPP). Year Recipient
Chambliss Astronomical Writing AwardThe Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award is to be given for astronomy writing for an academic audience, specifically textbooks at either the upper division undergraduate level or the graduate level. The motivation for this choice is the fact that introductory textbooks and popular astronomy books have large markets and a number of existing modes of recognition and reward. Books serving astronomy majors and graduate students, by contrast, have relatively small markets and excellence in this area is rarely recognized. Nonetheless, such books serve a vital role in the professional development. Books suitable for this award must be currently available in North America. Multiple medals will be given if the winning book has multiple authors and the monetary award divided. Chambliss Award Nomination Form Astronomical Writing Award Committee Year Recipients
Chambliss Amateur Achievement AwardThe award will be for an achievement in astronomical research made by an amateur astronomer; that is a person not employed in the field of astronomy in a professional capacity, and who is resident in North America. The key factor will be that the work contributes to the advancement of the science of astronomy. Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award Rules Chambliss Award Nomination Form Year Recipients
Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student AwardsThe Astronomy Achievement Student Awards are given to recognize exemplary research by undergraduate and graduate students who present at one of the poster sessions at the meetings of the AAS. Awardees are honored with a Chambliss medal and a certificate. Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award Rules Chambliss Award Nomination Form Year Recipients
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