Last Chance to Nominate Textbook Authors, Amateur Astronomers, Early Career Astronomers and More for Awards!

Summer vacation may be all you're thinking about this week, but an important deadline is just four days away! The nomination period for numerous AAS and other awards closes June 30. Take a moment from summer to nominate some worthy astronomers (perhaps even you) for these awards. All awards posts were originally posted on AAS.org.

The AAS prizes include three that are designed to honor astronomers in the early phases of their careers: the Annie Jump Cannon Award, the Helen B. Warner Prize, and the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize. These are distinct prizes with different selection criteria and rules. All are awarded annually. Read about each prize and nominate at https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/04/early-career-prizes-not-all-same.

Annie Jump Cannon, 1922.
Image: Library of Congress

The Joseph Weber Award for Astronomical Instrumentation is awarded to an individual for the design, invention, or significant improvement of instrumentation (not software) leading to advances in astronomy. There are no restrictions on a candidate's country of residence or citizenship. Nominate at https://aas.org/grants-and-prizes/joseph-weber-award-astronomical-instrumentation.

The Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize recognizes an outstanding research contribution to astronomy or astrophysics of an exceptionally innovative or highly creative character. The prize is normally awarded every two years. There are no restrictions on a candidate’s citizenship or country of residence. Nor is there a limitation on a candidate’s career stage or field of research within the astronomical sciences. Nominate at https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/04/nominate-someone-perhaps-yourself-tinsley-prize.

Longtime AAS member Carlson R. Chambliss, now retired from a lengthy career at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, endowed several new AAS prizes in 2006. Among them are the Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award and the Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award. Dr. Chambliss is also a longtime member of the American Numismatic Association with a keen interest in coins and medals, so these prizes come with gleaming medals that he designed himself: a gold one for the writing award and a silver one for the amateur award. Nominate an amateur astronomer or a textbook writer at https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/04/aas-prizes-textbook-authors-amateur-astronomers.

AAS.org

Take a moment this weekend to nominate someone for one or two or all of these awards. Remember, the deadline to nominate is Tuesday, June 30!

(Re)starting the Discussion about Hiring Practices

Many of us received the following email from the AAS, containing a letter from David Helfand (AAS president) about hiring practices. I thought I'd repost it here, to provide a space for discussion about this topic.

What do you think? 

• Should we revamp our letter of recommendation system? 
• Should we set a deadline for faculty positions as we do for postdocs (Feb 15)? 
• Should departments cut down on the number of in-person campus interviews? 
• How can we create a more sustainable relationship between the number of PhDs and the job opportunities available? 
• What support should we be providing to better prepare our PhDs for the full range of interesting careers? 

Letter from Dr. Helfand:

For a significant fraction of our membership, February is probably not their favorite month. Despite being the calendrical midget with the smallest number of days, for those on the job market it probably produces the largest amount of anxiety. Indeed, the entire job search process seems to consume a larger number of months, a larger expenditure of resources, a larger amount of time, and a larger quantity of emotional energy than it did the last time I applied for a job 36 years ago. Should we reduce this burden? And, if so, how do we go about doing that? I certainly don't know the answer(s), but I think it is time to start asking the question(s).