Society News Archive

August, 2007 - ASP is pleased to announce its newest members to the ASP Board of Directors; Edna DeVore, Deputy CEO and the Director of Education and Public Outreach (EPO) at the SETI Institute, Phil Sakimoto an astrophysicist; education, outreach, and diversity specialist; and planetarian with the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Physics and joining them is re-elected board member, Lynne Hillenbrand, an associate professor of astronomy at the California Institute of Technology.

May 15, 2007 - The Astronomical Society of the Pacific announced today the eight winners of its 2007 awards for excellence in astronomy research and education. The ASP's most prestigious award, the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal for lifetime achievement in astronomy has been awarded to Martin Harwit, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy, Cornell University.

Read about Dr. Harwit and the additional seven award winners.

ASP 2007 Award Winners Press Release

March 28, 2007 - ASP announces new Board of Directors officers for 2007. James Kaler of the University of Illinois is ASP President and joining him as Vice President is Tim Slater of the University of Arizona. Full article.

March 21, 2007 - The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) announced today that James Manning has been appointed to the position of Executive Director. Currently serving as Head of the Office of Public Outreach of the Space Telescope Science Institute, Mr. Manning will take up his new duties in San Francisco in early July.

Full Press Release.

August 11 , 2006 - The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) announced today it has named Dr. Leo Connolly of the California State University, San Bernardino as the first recipient of the newly-created Richard H. Emmons Award for Excellence in College Astronomy Teaching.

Read the full Press Release

March 15, 2006 - The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), one of the nation's leading astronomy education organizations, announced today that Executive Director Michael A. Bennett has informed the Board of Directors of his intention to retire from full-time service before the end of 2006

Mr. Bennett has worked for the ASP for eleven years and has served as Executive Director for over five years. "My years with this wonderful organization have unquestionably been the most rewarding and fulfilling of my career," said Bennett. "But now, with the ASP stable and growing, I can start slowing down a bit. I will definitely continue serving the ASP by working part-time on a few projects, but I am also really looking forward to moving into semi-retirement."

"The ASP has made great progress under Mike's tenure," said ASP President Dennis Schatz, "especially through his leadership in sharpening the Society's strategic focus on education and professional development for educators. We're sorry to see him step down, but we respect his decision and we look forward to his continued involvement with specific projects and his help during the transition to the next Executive Director."

Schatz announced that a committee has been formed to conduct a national search and recommend a successor to the Board. A full position announcement is located on the ASP web site. Read our full press release for more information.

October 2005 - We are delighted to announce that Michael Gibbs, Ed.D, has joined the ASP as Chief Advancement Officer. In keeping with the ASP's increased emphasis on private and philanthropic fundraising, the board approved this new position several months ago and Michael was selected after a nationwide search.

Michael comes to us from Saint Mary's University of Winona, Minnesota, where he served as Vice President for Development. Prior to that, he spent several years at De Paul University in Chicago in increasingly responsible positions, most recently as Assistant Vice President in the Office of University Initiatives. He brings to the ASP an extensive background in institutional advancement, development, and fundraising at the local, regional, and national levels.

September 2005 - The Board of Directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is pleased to announce that Dr. Paula Szkody has been appointed Editor of the Publications of the ASP, effective January 1, 2006. Read more about Dr. Szkody.

May 17, 2005 - The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) announced today that the 2005 Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal has been awarded to Dr. Robert Kraft of the University of California, Santa Cruz. The prestigious Bruce Medal is the highest honor awarded by the ASP. Honoring a lifetime of fundamental contributions to the field of astronomy, the Medal has been awarded annually since 1898. Read more on Dr. Kraft and the winners of the ASP's seven other annual awards.

May 2005 - The ASP has been awarded a major grant from the Informal Science Division of the National Science Foundation. The four-year program, entitled "Astronomy From the Ground Up," calls for the ASP and its project partners to improve the capacity of dozens of smaller science centers and science museums to bring astronomy to their audiences, through improved staff training, materials, and professional development. More details on this exciting new project can be found for our members in the May/June issue of Mercury under "Last Word".

March 2005 - ASP President, Dennis Schatz, to receive NSTA's Distinguished Service to Science Award at the NSTA Convention in Dallas, Texas April 2, 2005.

Schatz receives this award in recognition for his contribution to science education. He is currently Vice President for Education and Exhibits at the Pacific Science Center, the major informal science museum in Seattle, WA. He has been one of the key managers of that institution since 1980, guiding major exhibits that traveled around the US, overseeing a number of influential outreach programs and co-chairing LASER, a statewide science teaching improvement program for Washington state.

March 2005 - ASP Announces new Board of Directors Officers for 2005. Dennis Schatz of the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington now serves as ASP President and joining him is James Kaler, of James B. Kaler of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, as the new Vice-President. Both serve these positions until March 2007. Catharine Garmany of NOAO joins our distinguished list of Past-Presidents and looks forward to remaining very active in the ASP.

January 2005 - The ASP announces the launch of the new Electronic Access to recently published Conference Series volumes. By the summer of 2005, all titles published in 2004 and current publications will be available electronically at no extra charge as well as in printed form. Read more about this exciting new feature.

November 2004 - Project ASTRO highlighted in November 2004 issue of Astronomy Magazine. After nearly a decade of creating teacher-astronomer relationship, Project ASTRO continues to enhance astronomy education throughout the United States. Read the entire article in pdf format (3.1 MB file, high-speed connection recommended).

August 24, 2004 - Dr. Harold McNamara, Professor of Astronomy at Brigham Young University, has retired as Managing Editor of the ASP's Conference Series. Associate Editor Dr. J. Ward Moody, also a Professor of Astronomy at BYU, has been named Interim Managing Editor. More...

May 20, 2004 - The ASP is pleased to announce the 2004 ASP Award recipients, including Dr. Chushiro Hayashi, recipient of the prestigious Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal and Dr. Seth Shostak, selected to receive the Klumpke-Roberts Award. Read more about all seven of our recipients and how to attend the 2004 Awards Banquet honoring their significant contributions and accomplishments.

April 15, 2004 - This spring marks the 10th year of Project ASTRO, an innovative program at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) that partners amateur and professional astronomers with teachers around the country to give students a hands-on introduction to astronomy.

Since the program started in San Francisco and Los Angeles classrooms in 1994, it has directly helped more than 103,000 students enjoy and participate in the excitement of scientific discovery. Project ASTRO is currently operating through 12 regional sites across the nation. Read the full press release to find out more details.

Dr. Janet Akyüz Mattei 1943-2004

The Universe became a bit darker on Monday, 22 March, with the death of Dr. Janet Akyüz Mattei, long-time Director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers and a former member of the ASP's Board of Directors.

Through her leadership of the international, nearly century-old AAVSO, through her efforts to draw amateur and professional astronomers closer together in their work, and through her passionate pursuit of improved science education, Dr. Mattei brought her innate curiosity about and love of the heavens to everyone fortunate enough to know her.

The Board of Directors, Officers, Editors, and Staff of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific are saddened by her passing and join the international science community in celebrating her marvelous, stellar life.

December 8, 2003 - NASA and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific announce the official launch of the Night Sky Network, a national coalition of astronomy clubs engaged in public outreach. Participating clubs will have the opportunity to use unique, engaging materials and demonstrations at all of their events, participate in special content and presentation training, involve more of their members in outreach, and even win national recognition for their public outreach activities. Second round applications are now being accepted through September 30th. Find out how your astronomy club can apply.

September 2, 2003 - New 2004 ASP Board Members announced.

July, 2003 - 2003 ASP Awards announced. Vera Rubin is awarded the prestigious Bruce Medal. Read more about all of our award winners.

February, 2003- The Astronomical Society of the Pacific sends its heartfelt condolences to the families of the Columbia astronauts and to the whole NASA family. More...

January 20, 2003 - The Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Secretary, Mary Kay Hemenway, was inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame for Science, Mathematics and Technology on January 20.

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