Awards

Nomination guidelines for the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal*

Purpose

The Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is one of the most prestigious and well-known awards in the Astrophysics community. Awarded since 1898 by the ASP, this annual award is given to a professional astronomer in recognition of a lifetime of outstanding achievement and contributions to astrophysics research.

Eligibility

The Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal awarded for a lifetime of outstanding research in astrophysics. This award is open to any nominee from any country who has carried out exceptional research through the course of her, his, or their career.

Nomination Requirements

Nominations may be submitted by any professional astronomer, including department chairs, Ph.D. advisers as well as all divisions heads of the IAU.  Self-nominations are not accepted.

Submissions must include:

• Resume or CV of the nominee
• Nominator letter of no more than two pages explaining in detail the specific contributions and achievements of the nominee that merit the Award. Appropriate journal citations to the scientific results must be included.
• Two independent letters of support (also no more than two pages each) for each nomination.
• Letters for the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal should detail a lifetime of outstanding achievement and contributions to astrophysics research. Letters should also provide evidence for training the next generation of scientists and creating healthy environments for scientific inquiry. ​​

Due Date

For a new nomination to be considered in any particular year, all nomination documents must be received by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific by March 15* of that year.

Selection

All nominations are reviewed by the Awards Committee appointed by the Board of Directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The Awards Committee recommends a recipient of the Award to the Board of Directors, which then makes the final selection. The Award recipient will be notified in the summer of the award year. If, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, none of the nominees is sufficiently outstanding, or if there are an insufficient number of nominations, the Award will not be given for the year in question.

The Award

The awardee will receive the Bruce Medal, a medal display case, a lifetime membership to the ASP, and travel expenses to attend the ASP Awards Gala.

Contact the Awards team if you have any questions or need more information.

Nominations closed on March 15, 8:59pm PT

*Submission Guidelines have been updated as of December, 2024