The Qilak award was developed jointly by the Beyond International Year of Astronomy group (a collaboration of CASCA, the FAAQ and the RASC). Established in 2011, these Awards are given, one by each of the sponsoring organizations, with a common purpose and evaluation criteria. The Qilak Award recognizes individual Canadian residents, or teams of residents, who have made an outstanding contribution either to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy in Canada, or to informal astronomy education in Canada. One goal the award is to promote such activities among the members of the sponsoring organizations. The recipient of the CASCA Qilak award will write an invited article for the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (JRASC), and will be offered the opportunity to address the membership at the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
The nomination package must consist of a joint letter of nomination by at least two members in good standing of CASCA. No letter should exceed three pages in length. A letter of nomination should highlight how the nominee, or team of nominees, have distinguished themselves in astronomy outreach or communication, and/or cite exceptional achievements. Additional material such as examples of a nominees work is allowed.
For the 2017 award, letters of nomination and any supporting materials must be received by the chair of the Awards Committee and the CASCA Business Office, by Nov 21 2016.
2017 Qilak Award
CASCA is pleased to announce Dr. Pierre Chastenay of the Université du Québec à Montréal as the 2017 recipient of the Qilak Award.
Dr. Chastenay received his MSc in Astrophysics from Université Laval, in Quebec City, in 1987. He then embarked on a remarkable career in public science communications and earned a PhD in Science Education from Université de Montréal in 2013.
Dr. Chastenay has been a leader in astronomy education and outreach in Canada for over 30 years. He led the development of over 100 long-running programs at the Planétarium de Montréal from 1988 to 2013. He was host of 156 episodes of Téléscience from 1996 to 2007 and over 200 episodes of Le Code Chastenay, which won a Prix Gémeaux in 2016. As a professor at UQAM, he has been creating educational materials for both students and teachers, and he has effectively been training a new generation of science teachers. The sheer breadth of his achievements (TV/radio, books, articles, planetarium programs) has earned him the prestigious distinction of becoming Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade.
CASCA is delighted to recognize Dr. Chastenay’s long and distinguished record of outstanding contributions to communicating astronomy to Canadians.
| 2016 |  Jaymie Matthews |
University of British Columbia | When galaxies, puppets and Ashton Kutcher collide. Full Citation. |
| 2015 |  Paul Delaney |
York University | Outreach from the York Observatory: 40 Years and Counting! Full Citation. |
| 2014 |  Howard Trottier |
Simon Fraser University | The IYA and Beyond at Simon Fraser University. Full Citation. |
| 2013 |  James Hesser |
National Research Council of Canada | Provocative Reflections on Communicating Astronomy in 2013 Canada. Full Citation. |
| 2012 | John R. Percy | University of Toronto | “A Half-Century of Astronomy Outreach: Reflections, and Lessons Learned” |
