Strengths of Astronomy in Canada

Canada has a rich tradition in astronomical research which it continues to vigorously support, largely through extensive national and international collaborations and partnerships.

Consider the following characteristics of the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) that was founded in 1971:

CASCA is comprised today of roughly 400 members, of whom:

• 150 are university faculty employed in over 15 universities who have a firm commitment to education as evidenced by the fact that they teach astronomy to about 10,000 undergraduates annually, and who share their knowledge with the over 700,000 Canadians who visit planetaria, science centres, and observatories each year,
• 15% are members of our National Observatories,
• 160 are graduate students and postdoctoral fellows,
• while 25% live outside of Canada.

Canadians are well represented in most exciting fields of contemporary astronomy, having made particularly important contributions to: cosmology--the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, the nature of dark matter, the origin and nature of large-scale structure, fundamental parameters, gravitational lensing; active galaxies and galaxy evolution; globular clusters--properties, dynamics, and evolution; stars--white dwarfs, pulsating and cataclysmic variables, helioseismology; star formation and the interstellar medium, as well as solar system dynamics and planetary studies.

The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory constitute our National Observatories which are associated with the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, an institute named in honour of a Canadian Nobel Laureate whose career had a profound effect on astronomy. HIA was established in 1970 by the National Research Council of Canada whose mandate includes the operation and administration of astronomical observatories in Canada.

Canadian astronomers have contributed significantly through our active participation in major international research projects and collaborations over the past generation. For example, Canada currently operates ground-based facilities in collaboration with France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, as well as Chile, Australia, Argentina and Brazil in the CFHT, JCMT and Gemini observatories. We are actively pursuing participation in the Atacama Large Millimetre Array. Our involvement in space-based missions at this time includes HST, VSOP, Odin and FUSE, and we are actively developing instrumentation concepts for NGST. The Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics is recognized as one of the premier institutions for theoretical astronomy, drawing visiting faculty and postdocs from all over the world. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory also serves as a testament to Canada's commitment to the support of fundamental physics with important astrophysical implications.

Astronomers in Canada have won a disproportionately large share of prizes available to national science researchers (eg., Canada Council Killam Fellowships) and have achieved a high level of international recognition, including a Nobel Prize, membership in The Royal Society (UK) as well as some of the most prestigious prizes awarded by the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the American Institute of Physics. This should be viewed in context: according to recent OECD statistics, Canadian astronomers enjoy the lowest level of funding per researcher, yet are among the most productive as judged by the number of publications per capita.

Canadian astronomers have also served in variety of capacities within the IAU including three times as Vice-President, as well as Presidents, Vice-Presidents and members of numerous commissions, and as organizers of many symposia and colloquia that have spanned the IAU's vast activities.

Innovation has long been a major component of Canadian astronomy, resulting in the development of important techniques and instrumentation. For example, Canadians were responsible for the first implementation of Very Long Baseline Interferometry, for pioneering efforts in adaptive optics with our French colleagues at the CFHT, as well as the measurement of high-precision radial velocities. And this tradition continues. It should also be noted that the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre, established by the NRC and now also supported by the Canadian Space Agency, has close links with ESA's European Coordinating Facility and NASA's STScI, and has pioneered scientifically effective, user-friendly data archiving and distribution techniques used by astronomers globally.

Like scientists world-wide, Canadian astronomers look forward to meeting the challenges the new millennium will bring, including participating in the establishment of a host of ground- and space-based "world observatories" dedicated to the investigation--and perhaps even solution--of some of the most intriguing problems in science.

JR Roy's Commentary   GSC 17   Tables of Contents

Cassiopeia -- 1999-DS