CASCA is pleased to announce that Dr. Jo-Anne Brown has been awarded the 2004 J.S. Plaskett medal. This award, consisting of a gold medal and a $500 honorarium, was established jointly with the Royal Astronomical Society with the first recipient named in 1988. The Plaskett Medal is awarded annually for the best Ph.D. thesis work at a Canadian University and the recipient is asked to present her/his thesis results at the Annual Meeting of either the RASC or CASCA.
This year's medalist will be be at CASCA 2004 and present to us her results on "The Magnetic Field of the Outer Galaxy". Dr.Brown completed her Ph.D. at the University of Calgary under the supervision of Professor A. R. Taylor. Her analysis of the new and important data on compact polarized radio sources generated by the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey has resulted in a major advance in our knowledge of the magnetic field of the outer Galaxy. In particular, she has shown that there are no obvious magnetic field reversals in the outer galaxy, as had previously been thought to exist. She has also found evidence that the random component of the Galactic magnetic field is anisotropic.
Dr. Brown continues her research while holding an Alberta Ingenuity Research Associateship at the University of Calgary. CASCA thanks the Awards Committee consisting of: Shantanu Basu (Chair), Stephanie Cote, David Guenther, and Douglas Welch, for their time and effort.