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ASP Annual Awards

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific honors special accomplishments in astronomy research, technology, education, and public outreach by giving eight annual awards. Nominations are welcome from ASP Members and members of the astronomical community. Descriptions of the awards and links to the nomination pages are listed below.

About the ASP Awards

Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal
Awarded since 1898 for a lifetime of outstanding research in astronomy

Our highest award is the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal, awarded for a lifetime of outstanding research in astronomy. Awarded since 1898, the medal has gone to some of the greatest astronomers of the past century. A complete list of past recipients and a Brief History of the Bruce Medal including medalist biographies.

The 2011 winner is Dr. Jeremiah P. Ostriker, Professor of Astronomy at Princeton University.

Richard H. Emmons Award
For excellence in college astronomy teaching

Added to our list of honors in 2006, the Richard H. Emmons Award was inspired by a very generous gift from Jeanne and Allan Bishop, in honor of her father, Richard Emmons. Dr. Jeanne Bishop, a well-known astronomy educator in her own right, wished to honor her father, an astronomer with a life-long dedication to astronomy education, by creating an annual award that recognizes and celebrates outstanding achievement in the teaching of college-level introductory astronomy for non-science majors. List of past winners.

The 2011 winner is Douglas Duncan of the University of Colorado and the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, Colorado, USA.

More information on the award, its eligibility requirements, and nomination procedures.
Nomination Form
2012 Nomination Deadline: 1 January 2012

Amateur Achievement Award
For significant observational or technical achievements by an amateur astronomer

The Amateur Achievement Award recognizes significant observational or technological contributions to astronomy or amateur astronomy by an individual not employed in the field of astronomy in a professional capacity. List of past winners.

The 2011 winner is Kevin Apps, of London, England.

More information on the award, its eligibility requirements, and nomination procedures.
Nomination Form
2012 Nomination Deadline: 1 January 2012

Las Cumbres Amateur Outreach Award
For outstanding outreach by an amateur astronomer to children and the public

The Las Cumbres Amateur Outreach Award, given for the first time in 2001, seeks to honor outstanding educational outreach by an amateur astronomer to K-12 children and the interested lay public. List of past winners.

The 2011 winner is Lonnie Puterbaugh, Brentwood, Tennessee, USA.

More information on the award, its eligibility requirements, and nomination procedures.
Nomination Form
2012 Nomination Deadline: 1 January 2012

Klumpke-Roberts Award
For outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy

The ASP bestows the annual Klumpke-Roberts Award on those who have made outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. Awardees include Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Chesley Bonestall, Timothy Ferris, Walter Sullivan, Heidi Hammel, and the staffs of Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines. List of past awardees.

The 2011 winner is Paul Davies, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA.

More information on the award, its eligibility requirements, and nomination procedures.
Nomination Form
2012 Nomination Deadline: 1 January 2012

Robert J. Trumpler Award
For a recent Ph.D. thesis considered unusually important to astronomy

The Robert J. Trumpler Award is given each year to a recent recipient of the PhD degree in North America whose research is considered unusually important to astronomy. List of past awardees and granting institutions.

The 2011 winner is Philip Hopkins, PhD awarded by Harvard University (now at University of California, Berkeley, USA).

More information on the award, its eligibility requirements, and nomination procedures.
Nomination Form
2012 Nomination Deadline: 1 January 2012

Thomas J. Brennan Award
For exceptional achievement related to the teaching of astronomy at the high school level

The Thomas J. Brennan Award recognizes excellence in the teaching of astronomy at the high school level in North America. The winners have demonstrated exceptional commitment to classroom or planetarium education, as well as the training of other teachers. List of past receipients.

The 2011 winner is Mark S. Reed, Jackson High School, Jackson, Michigan, USA.

More information on the award, its eligibility requirements, and nomination procedures.
Nomination Form
2012 Nomination Deadline: 1 January 2012

Maria and Eric Muhlmann Award
For important research results based upon development of groundbreaking instruments and techniques.

The Maria and Eric Muhlmann Award is given for recent significant observational results made possible by innovative advances in astronomical instrumentation, software, or observational infrastructure. List of past winners.

The 2011 winner is Gaspar Bakos, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

More information on the award, its eligibility requirements, and nomination procedures.
Nomination Form
2012 Nomination Deadline: 1 January 2012

Pricilla and Bart Bok Award

Bart Bok was an outstanding research astronomer who made important contributions to our understanding of the Milky Way and of star formation. He received the Bruce Medal for lifetime achievement and in 1982 the Klumpke-Roberts Award for the popularization of astronomy. Throughout his life, and especially as an ASP Board member, Bok was a strong advocate for outreach and education in astronomy. Upon his death in 1983, the Society established the Bart Bok Memorial Fund to support educational projects. At the suggestion of the AAS, the activitivies supported by the Bok Fund were expanded to include the joint sponsorship of an astronomy award at the Intel Science and Engineering Fair.

Award Page

Please contact awards {at} astrosociety.org if you have questions about the nomination process.