September is particularly significant this year; not only is it beginning of a new academic year, but it also marks the start of a long-range planning process for Canadian astronomy. I'll expand on both of these issues below.
First, however, I wish to extend my congratulations on behalf of CASCA Board and our Society to the CASCA98 organizing committee for hosting a first-rate meeting in Quebec last May. As anyone who attended can attest, the scientific sessions were excellent, and the meeting's organization and ambiance were superb.
I would like to thank outgoing Past President, Bill Harris, and Director, Chris Purton for serving the Society so well over the past few years. It is a pleasure to welcome Gilles Fontaine as a Director. The Board also recognizes the continued efforts of the Chairs and members of our committees who contribute a great deal to our Society.
At its meeting in Quebec, CASCA Board established two new committees: the Next Generation Space Telescope Science Steering Committee which is chaired by Simon Lilly and is actually a subcommittee of the JSSA, as well as the Graduate Student Committee whose Chair is R.M. Blake. Information related to CASCA committees can be found at our Society's website.
CASCA has recently become a member of the Canadian Consortium for Research (CCR). The CCR is effectively a lobby group concerned with the funding of research in all sectors and the support of post-secondary education. It consists of 23 organizations that represent 50,000 scientists and researchers and 400,000 students across Canada. Its primary concerns are "the need to ensure stable federal government funding for university based research in the medical and natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and for R&D in government laboratories." CCR's primary activities involve "organizing and conducting information meetings with Members of Parliament and senior government officials to ensure that R&D issues are recognized and addressed." The Canadian Association of Physicists is also a member of the CCR. CASCA is in the process of identifying a representative who can attend monthly meetings in Ottawa in order to articulate our unique concerns.
CASCA continues its activities in the area of electromagnetic pollution, due chiefly to the efforts of our radio spectrum manager, Ken Tapping, whose most recent article is included in this issue. I hope to report in the near future on some explicit measures we are planning on this front.
Finally, and most importantly, I would like to draw the Society's attention to the long-range planning exercise which is now officially underway in Canada. As you are undoubtedly aware, the Long Range Planning Panel (LRPP) has been commissioned by CASCA, NRC and NSERC in order to write a report "which can sensitize the senior management of NRC and NSERC and other Government officials regarding the needs of Canadian astronomy over the next decade." The panel's membership includes Ralph Pudrtiz (Chair), Andrea Dupree, Bill Harris, Gilles Joncas, Simon Morris, Ernie Seaquist and Jack Welch. It is essential that every Canadian astronomer contribute to this national dialogue. There will be a number of ways to do so; from town hall meetings, to Web submissions. You may access all the relevant LRPP documents distributed to the community by the e-mail exploder in mid-September via the CASCA webpage.
For more details, please read Ralph's contribution on this issue which was circulated to members by e-mail on 1998 September 18.
Identifying future facilities will be driven primarily by determining the complement of instruments necessary to solve the outstanding astrophysical problems of the coming decade. Yet one area which the LRPP has decided to emphasize in its report is "education and public outreach." This seems highly prudent given that the report must also convince politicians and the Canadian taxpayer of the promise and soundness of our plans.
To most of us, "education" connotes the training and inspiration of Canada's next generation(s) of astronomers who certainly require competitive facilities. While there is no doubt that this is a terribly important goal, we should also be prepared to recognize how vital "astronomy 101" is to the health of astronomy in Canada as John Landstreet remarked in his Presidential Address at CASCA98. Not only do most full-time astronomy-related positions in Canada depend on the teaching of undergraduate astronomy courses, but it is through such experiences that the next generation acquires a mature appreciation of science in general and astronomy in particular. It is also true at some level that how well astronomy is funded in this nation depends on the public's perception of our science. Thus, unless we are willing to take seriously our responsibilities to educate and to communicate, we cannot possibly achieve our full potential in the next decade.
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Michael De Robertis President of CASCA <mmdr@yorku.ca> Michael, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at York University, is the current President of CASCA. He obtained his BSc at the University of Toronto (1997), his MSc at Queen's University (1979) and his PhD at the University of Victoria (1983). De Robertis completed two years of postdoctoral work at the Lick Observatory (UC Santa Cruz) before taking up a University Research Fellowship at York University in late 1985. His research interests focus primarily on the activity in galactic nuclei using optical and near-infrared imaging and spectroscopic techniques. He has also developed an interest in Galactic structure and the low-mass end of the main sequence. |