The Carlyle S. Beals Award was established by CASCA in 1981 in recognition of the groundbreaking research of the late C.S. Beals. The Beals Prize was originally awarded to provide a grant for travel to a General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (every three years). In 1988, however, it was first awarded in its present form: to a Canadian astronomer or an astronomer working in Canada, in recognition of outstanding achievement in research (either as a specific achievement or as a lifetime of research). The recipient shall be invited to address the Society at its Annual Meeting. To be considered for the award, nominees must be current CASCA members in good standing.
An award is now considered every second year, in even-numbered years. The nomination package must consist of a joint letter of nomination by at least two members of CASCA in good standing, the CV of the candidate, and three external letters of support (e.g., from international experts in the nominee’s field). No letter should exceed three pages in length. No other material should be submitted. Please submit nomination packages entirely in electronic form to the Chair of the Awards committee. The deadline for submissions for the 2022 award is Dec 31 2021.
2020 Carlyle S. Beal Award
The 2020 Carlyle S. Beals Award is presented to Dr. Howard Yee for his outstanding career contributions to Observational Cosmology
Dr. Yee obtained his PhD from the California Institute of Technology, and is currently a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and previously held a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Observational Cosmology. For almost three decades, Dr. Yee has been a leader of optical/infrared collaborations in Canada and internationally. He spearheaded the Canadian Network for Observational Cosmology Surveys, and with his students, pioneered the Cluster Red-Sequence algorithm for galaxy cluster identification that has revolutionized the use of galaxy clusters as cosmological probes. Dr. Yee has additionally served in multiple leadership positions in the community, serving on various boards, steering committees, and time-allocation committees for the Canada France Hawaii Telescope and the Gemini Observatory, and has provided much of the early leadership for the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics Institute in Taiwan.
CASCA is delighted to recognize Dr. Yee’s efforts with this award.
2018 | ![]() |
“Modern Cosmology” View Citation |
2016 | ![]() |
“The Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae” View Citation |
2014 | ![]() |
“Globular clusters” View Citation |
2012 | ![]() |
“Carpe Lux. Beal’s Lecture 2012” View Citation |
2010 | Bill Harris | “Between Galaxies and Stars” |
2008 | Ray Carlberg | “Preliminary SNLS Third Year Results” |
2006 | Georges Michaud | “Atomic Diffusion in Pop II Stars, Globular Clusters and WMAP” |
2004 | Ernest R. Seaquist | “The Galaxy M82 – a Rosetta Stone for the Starburst Phenomenon” |
2002 | John Landstreet | “Magnetic Fields in Stars” |
2000 | Gilles Fontaine | “The Potential of White Dwarf Cosmochronology” |
1998 | Gordon A. H. Walker | “Challenges for the New Millennium: Some Persistent Astronomical Mysteries” |
1996 | J. Richard Bond | “Cosmic Background Anisotropies and Large Scale Structure: Past, Present and Future” |
1994 | Peter G. Martin | “Interstellar Pinball: A Sometimes Shocking Story of Excited Molecular Hydrogen” |
1992 | Rene Racine | “Support for Astronomy” |
1990 | Scott Tremaine | “Is the Solar System Stable?” |
1988 | Sidney van den Bergh | “Supernovae and their Remnants” |
1985 | Anne B. Underhill | |
1982 | John B. Hutchings |