Category Archives: News and Announcements

TMT Second Generation Instrumentation Workshop

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Canada is one of the founding members of the Thirty Metre Telescope consortium, having already made significant contributions to the overall design of the observatory.   Canada’s commitment to TMT includes design and construction of the dome and delivering first light instruments NFIRAOS (the Narrow-Field InfraRed Adaptive Optics System) and a portion of IRIS (the Infrared Imaging Spectrograph).

In this workshop, we invite Canadian scientists, engineers, and researchers in industry to participate in a discussion of Canadian interests for the second generation of instruments for the TMT.  As TMT Science Instrumentation Workshops are held regularly by partner countries (see examples here), we propose a discussion to identify Canada’s priorities and options for the future of TMT.    To participate in this workshop, please fill out the registration form available at http://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/arc/events/workshops/index.php.

CASCA Board statement on the University of California at Berkeley sexual harassment case

By | | CASCA in the News, News and Announcements
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The Board of Directors of the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) is appalled by the recent news that Dr. Geoffrey Marcy, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has been found to have violated the university’s Sexual Harassment Policy over a period of many years. Such behaviour has no place in our professional academic and working environment. We wish to express our concern for the women whose lives, both professional and personal, have been affected adversely by Dr. Marcy’s actions. We also feel that the sanctions that were originally levied by the University of California, Berkeley, against Dr. Marcy were inadequate compared to the damage he has caused to others.

CASCA has an Ethics Statement that states “All people encountered in one’s professional life must be treated with respect and dignity. Discrimination, harassment and abusive behaviours, be it against colleagues, students, or members of the media or the public, are never acceptable.” We have also implemented a code of conduct at our annual scientific meeting, which includes identifying one or more persons in authority and present at the meeting with whom concerns about inappropriate behavior during the meeting may be raised. We will be reviewing our own policies and procedures to identify additional measures that should be taken to protect our members.

Christine Wilson, President, CASCA