2023 AAS Prize Nominations Now Open
Alice Monet US Naval Obs. (retired); AAS Secretary
Nominations for AAS prizes are open, and all AAS members are invited and encouraged to prepare nominations for themselves or their colleagues to honor important contributions to astronomical research, instrumentation, writing, teaching, and service to the astronomical community.
There are prizes for researchers at all stages of their careers, for amateurs making significant discoveries or valuable contributions to astronomical science, for excellence in education in both formal and informal settings, and for work that supports the community and enables research, engages the public, and informs legislation that benefits our science.
The AAS specifically encourages nominations of, and self-nominations from, astronomers who are members of marginalized groups, including people of color, people with disabilities, and sexual and gender minorities.
The deadline for 2023 prize nominations is 30 June 2022. This year, the nomination process has been streamlined considerably and some submission guidelines have changed. Here’s what is new:
- Each prize’s webpage provides clear documentation for review prior to submitting a nomination. Included are the professional ethics self-disclosure form and a nomination checklist that describes who (nominator, nominee, or letter writer) will be responsible for each part of the prize nomination.
- The professional ethics self-disclosure form is required for all nominations. The information provided will be kept in confidence for use by the prize process administrators (who will ensure the form is complete) and the Ethics Committee (who will follow up if something has been disclosed). Nominees who choose not to complete the ethics form will not be considered for the prize for which they were nominated.
- For all prizes, there are new limits on the length of the curriculum vitae and the bibliography uploaded by the nominee. Nominees are advised to keep both documents to no more than two pages in length (with normal font size and margins). Longer documents may be submitted, but reviewers will only be expected to read the first two pages.
- When requesting letters of support, nominators are required to make sure in advance that the individuals listed understand that their letters are required by the 30 June deadline, and that everyone who agrees to write a letter is expected to do so. If you agree to write a letter of support and then find that you will be unable to do so, it is essential that you inform the nominator so that another person can be asked to write the letter instead. Any nomination missing a letter of support will be ineligible for consideration for that prize.
- All completed nominations are active for three years. If there is new information that should be included in a previous nomination, please contact the AAS Secretary to have this added.
We hope these updates to the AAS Prize Process will reduce barriers to submitting nominations and encourage more people to nominate themselves or their colleagues for AAS prizes and honors. Recognizing excellence in research, instrumentation, education, writing, and service to the community is an important part of the work of the AAS that benefits all its members.