Canadian Astronomical Society
Martin Award
The Peter G. Martin Award for mid-career achievement was established in 2009 thanks to a generous gift from Peter Martin, a former President of CASCA and Professor at the University of Toronto.
The Martin Award is considered every second year, for presentation in odd-numbered years, to a mid-career astronomer in recognition of significant contributions to astronomical research. To be eligible, the nominee must be a member of CASCA in good standing, and a Canadian astronomer or an astronomer working in Canada. The nominee will normally have received his or her PhD degree between 10 and 20 years previously; allowances will be made for extended leaves of up to two years, e.g. maternity, paternity or parental leaves, medical leaves, etc. However, no individual may be nominated for both the Richer (early career) and Martin (mid-career) prizes in the same year.
The recipient shall be invited to address the Society at its Annual General Meeting.
Nomination Requirements
The nomination package must be submitted entirely in electronic form to the Chair of the Awards committee and should consist of:
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A letter of nomination (see nomination guidelines). Nomination letters should be written in the third person, without reference to nominator identity, and without institutional letterhead or other identifiers. This ensures that self- and non-self nominations are not distinguishable.
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The CV of the nominee
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All nomination documents should be in a single PDF document
In addition three external letters of support (e.g., from international experts in the nominee’s field) should be sent directly to the Chair of the awards committee (to ensure confidentiality of references). No letter should exceed two pages in length.
The deadline for nominations for the 2025 Award is 15 January 2025.
2025 Peter G. Martin Award
CASCA is pleased to announce Dr. Alan McConnachie as the 2025 recipient of the Peter G. Martin Award for mid-career achievement Dr. McConnachie obtained his PhD from Cambridge University in 2005 and is now a Principal Research Officer at the National Research Council—Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre, Victoria, BC. Dr. McConnachie is a leader in near-field cosmology, especially renowned for his studies of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group, crucial laboratories for understanding structure formation and chemical enrichment. His leadership of the PAndAS wide-field survey of M31’s halo has dramatically increased our understanding of galaxy halos, especially the streams left by shattered galaxies in these halos. He also led Canadian involvement in the CFHT-Unions survey, which has now enabled Canadian participation in Euclid. Dr. McConnachie is equally known for his leadership in designing, advocating for, and building instruments and telescopes. He has been a key leader (including Project Scientist) assembling the science case and partnership for turning CFHT into a wide-field spectroscopic facility, the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer. He led the commissioning of the GHOST spectroscope on Gemini, led an upgrade of filters for the CFHT, and is now leading scientific development of an imager for the GIRMOS spectroscope on Gemini. Finally, he has assumed an increasing role in scientific leadership within the NRC, where he was Science Advisor to the NRC-Herzberg Instrumentation Group, and is now Acting Director of Astronomy Technology. CASCA is delighted to recognize Dr. McConnachie for his contributions to astronomical research.