I had the pleasure of speaking at the annual congress of Mexican astronomers last week. While there and in some subsequent exchanges I was able to provide some input on how CASCA is organized and operates and likewise how to develop and promote a Long Range Plan (LRP). This was a reminder of how much our community has advanced since CASCA was formed more than 35 years ago.
Hope Springs eternal for additional funding for the LRP, but the pre-equinox federal budget was alas more Winter-like (though not a complete deep freeze; for example there was a welcome renewal of CFI funding for another competition). Nevertheless, all-party support for the LRP is strong and the LRP continues to resonate at many levels in government. Furthermore, there is a growing understanding of the Coalition for Canadian Astronomy’s position emphasizing the importance of funding all aspects of the LRP program, including the “people” aspects identified with NSERC and outreach, not just the hardware. And so although there has not yet the breakthrough that the Coalition has been working toward, progress can be noted. It will be interesting a year from now to reflect on whether the ratchet has slipped.
This is the time of year that NSERC awards are announced. I expect that like in the last few years there will be many disappointments, basically caused by a lack of funds available to the GSC to disburse. For example, the funding available for the returning grantees was considerably lower than their combined expiring grants, not to mention the inflation that had occurred over the five-year periods of these grants. The average funding available for new applicants was about $15,000, not really adequate to support the research programs of the outstanding young people being hired across the country. A further surprise sprung upon all GSCs at the last moment was a requirement for a minimum grant size, about $15,000. While this is consistent with my observation above, it does upset the culture of GSC 17 somewhat.
One area where we probably collectively missed an opportunity was in the instrumentation grant (RTI) category. Traditionally the funding made available to a GSC is some portion of the funds requested by the applicants, and so in a year of low demand like in our GSC this year, our community’s share of the RTI pool goes down.
There have been some singular honours for our members recently, including the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering for Dick Bond and Officer of the Order of Canada for Jaymie Matthews. Ours is such an active and successful community that I’m sure I’ve missed some, and so while we congratulate these two for their accomplishments perhaps this will prompt some letters to the editor!