Nominations Are Now Open for 2025 AAS Prizes
Alice Monet US Naval Obs. (retired); AAS Secretary
Nominations for AAS prizes are now being accepted! We encourage members to nominate themselves and their colleagues for prizes that best fit their career stage and accomplishments. Nominations are due 30 June.
Nominations are open for the following prizes and honors:
- AAS Fellows
- Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy
- Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award
- Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award
- Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics
- Education Prize
- Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship
- Joseph Weber Award for Astronomical Instrumentation
- Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy
* The Beatrice M. Tinsley and George Van Biesbroeck Prizes are awarded every two years. Nominations will not be accepted for these two prizes until next year.
Nominations are submitted online using the OpenWater prize system. Before initiating a nomination, please read the Nomination Checklist.
Collecting the required information before beginning a nomination will make the process much easier. Nominators provide the name, institution, and contact information for the nominee, and also the names and contact information for three people who have agreed to write letters of support. Please take extra caution to provide current and correct email addresses. The prize system has no way to check for the accuracy of the email addresses; any errors introduced at this point will fail the nomination.
Once the nomination has been submitted (by clicking the SUBMIT button at the end), the nominee will receive an email requesting their information, i.e., CV, bibliography, etc. Those writing support letters will also receive emails with instructions and links for uploading their letters. The nominator will be notified as soon as these requested documents are submitted. It’s the nominator's responsibility to follow up and make sure all documents and letters are submitted.
Nominators may write letters of support for others but not for themselves. A total of three letters is required. If anyone is asked to write a letter of support and cannot do so, they need to notify the nominator so that the nominator can ask another person for a letter. Nominations are not complete until all three letters have been submitted.
A few new things to look for this year:
- Nomination checklists are now written specifically for each prize. Look for the prize-specific list on the prize nomination page.
- For the Annie Jump Cannon Prize, the five-year research plan is now limited to three pages of text, not including tables, graphics, and references.
- For all prizes, the evaluation criteria are now posted on each prize web page.
We encourage all AAS members to consider nominating themselves or colleagues for a prize. The prizes that the Society awards to its members are among the most visible and effective ways to recognize our members’ contributions and achievements, as well as contribute to their future success.
If you’ve never used the online prize system, please give it a try. Instructions have been provided at each step to help users navigate the system. But if you are confused or run into unexpected issues, please contact [email protected] with your questions.
Please don’t wait until the June 30th deadline to start a nomination. Many of our colleagues contacted us on that date needing assistance. Don’t be one of them!