Category Archives: President’s Reports

By / par Sara Ellison (CASCA President)
(Cassiopeia – Autumn / l’automne 2020)

It’s back to school time – and for a semester the like of which we have never seen before! First of all, a warm welcome to all of the new members of our community – graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and professors alike. It is not an easy time to be starting a new position of any kind, or moving to a new place. Although we are fortunate that our profession is largely conducive to remote working, activities such as collaboration meetings, classroom interactions and student-supervisor exchanges all play a critical role in our daily work lives. Engaging our new community members will be critical in the months ahead. I encourage every one of us to think about how we can reach out to the new people in our departments (and beyond!) to make them feel welcome and included. I also want to take this opportunity to remind you that new graduate students can join CASCA for free for their first year, so please encourage your new peers/students to take advantage of this.

The Long Range Planning (LRP) process is reaching its crescendo. The main facility recommendations have now been released ahead of the full report, in order that they can be a ready tool for lobbying and funding efforts that will start to ramp up through the Fall. The full report content is expected to be released in mid-November (a reminder that there is a dedicated set of LRP web pages hosted on casca.ca, including the schedule for the next six months). Although the release of the LRP’s report represents the final lap of an (ultra?) marathon for the LRP panel, it is just the start of our work as a community. Converting the LRP’s recommendations into reality (whether that be funding new facilities, or improving astronomy’s professional climate) should be an effort in which we all engage. The CASCA Board will, of course, be reviewing the implementation process once the full report comes out. This will certainly include coordination with our Society’s committees, for example to discuss recommendations specific to topics such as equity, diversity, public outreach and sustainability. There has also already been discussion with (and within) the current LRP Implementation Committee (LRPIC, Chaired by John Hutchings), who have overseen the last decade of progress, on how we can most effectively monitor, support and facilitate recommendations. Beyond these official structures, the actions and voices of individual community members (i.e. you!) will be equally vital in converting the LRP’s recommendations into a reality. Every one of us can enact recommendations concerning our professional climate.

One of the LRP-recommended facilities which demands our immediate efforts is the Square Kilometre Array (SKA; see the latest newsletter update here), in which Canada has been a key player since its inception. The SKA is currently going through a major transformation into an inter-governmental organization (IGO) with partner countries signing a convention for membership. This process is already well underway, with 7 countries having already signed the convention, with 3 of them fully ratified. The convention will come into full force when five countries (including the 3 hosts: Australia, South Africa and the UK) have ratified, which is expected by mid-2021. Canada is not currently amongst these signatories. In order that Canada can continue to play a major leadership role in the SKA project, our membership status, and a funding commitment, are urgently needed. For example, Canada has recently been awarded a conditional contract for the mid-frequency central signal processor, one of the largest contracts awarded to date. However, this contract is conditional on our future commitment to the project, and needs to be finalized by the middle of next year. We should all be taking the opportunity to talk about the importance of SKA and other future facilities, both within our universities and to our broader contacts. Without awareness, there can be no action.

There has been much discussion about whether it is a lost cause to consider lobbying for new facility funding in the midst of the world’s current crisis. However, I see reasons to be hopeful. Our federal government, and funding agencies, have already shown willingness to dig into their rainy day coffers. The return to Parliament will be kicked off with a Speech from the Throne on September 23 and is expected to focus on a roadmap out of the pandemic. Word from Ottawa is that the Liberals are in Big Thinking (and spending!) mode, seeking to lay out a new vision to transform Canada in a post-pandemic world, without any immediate concerns for the fiscal deficit. Several of the highly ranked LRP facilities may offer appeal in this regard, both for their scientific and economic benefits. For example, The Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and ultraviolet Research (CASTOR; see the updates from Pat Côté in the 2020 Summer Solstice newsletter as well as this one) mission offers excellent opportunities for industrial partnership and technology development. As a telescope that is envisioned to be Canadian-led, CASTOR will have a field of view 100 times that of Hubble and provide the best ever view of the UV universe, and will therefore be both a cutting edge astronomical facility, as well as a source of national pride and inspiration.

In the last newsletter, Taylor Kutra, Martine Lokken and Hilding Neilson reported their positive experiences in taking/offering a mini-course on astronomy and colonization in Canada. I am delighted to hear that, this coming Fall, Hilding will be offering this course to our CASCA membership on a virtual platform. It behooves all of us to recognize and be educated on the issue of colonization, both in the context of astronomy and in Canada in general. Hilding’s course is a (currently) unique opportunity within our profession to learn from a First Nation professional astronomer with first hand understanding of the challenges and issues. As noted in the afore-mentioned newsletter article, such a course is long overdue. Now, thanks to Hilding’s community offering, one more step is being taken to disseminate this education. An announcement will be forthcoming on the CASCA exploder with more details, including the registration process.

Finally, an update on the AGM. As you all know, the original plan for 2021 was to host the CASCA AGM in Penticton, BC. However, upon discussion with the Penticton LOC (Chaired by Michael Rupen), due to on-going uncertainty over COVID-19 restrictions, we have decided that the 2021 AGM should be planned to be virtual. Since the 2022 AGM has already been confirmed to be hosted by Waterloo, Penticton aims to welcome us eventually in 2023. The online organizing committee (OOC) for CASCA 2021 is being led enthusiastically by Dennis Crabtree, and is planned for the week that had been originally identified for the Penticton meeting (May 10-14). In news from south of the border, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) is also offering its winter meeting virtually and has offered CASCA members the opportunity to attend at AAS member registration fee level. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, keep an eye out for the announcement on the CASCA email exploder in the near future, where we will be providing instructions on how to obtain the relevant discount code that can be used for web registration.

By / par Sara Ellison (CASCA President)
(Cassiopeia – Summer / été 2020)

At the time of writing, I have been CASCA President for exactly one week! It is a role that I am meeting with both excitement and humility – the outgoing President, Rob Thacker, carried out his role with the utmost dedication, tirelessly working for our community and expertly navigating us through some choppy waters. So, whilst I am excited to receive the Presidential baton and continue the good work, Rob has left some rather big shoes to fill. Thank you Rob, on behalf of the Society, the Board and myself for your hard work to make the very best of our community.

The Board has some other new faces as well – we welcome Laura Parker (McMaster) and Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo (Montreal) as Directors, replacing Suresh Sivanandam and Rene Doyon. Thank you to Suresh and Rene for your valued service. The new Vice-President is Samar Safi-Harb (Manitoba), with whom I have worked in several capacities in recent years and am delighted to have as my wing-(wo)man. [As an aside, our Board is now 6/9 female!]. And finally, Bob Abraham completes his six year marathon on the Executive, having rotated through the Vice-President’s position, then to President and then to past-President. Bob – you have been an inspiration in the community, bringing wit and wisdom wherever you go. Thank you.

Since the last Newsletter in March, I think that there is not a one amongst us who hasn’t had their personal and professional lives turned upside-down by COVID-19. However, in times of crisis, our true natures rise to the fore and I am proud and inspired to live and work in a society (and Society!) that is characterized by compassion, community-mindedness and creativity. Across Canada, nightly serenades to front line workers, hearts in windows, poetry on lampposts and neighbourhood `caremongering’ have become the norm. We can be very proud that astronomers are amongst those in Canada who are seeking ways to support both professionals and the public alike in these challenging times. I wanted to highlight two examples of this, whose target audiences differ, but whose goals are united in serving communities whose regular ways of engaging have been interrupted by COVID.

First, under the ever-energetic leadership of Julie Bolduc-Duval, Discover the Universe (DU) launched a daily podcast (“astro-at-home”) aimed at children aged 8-12, delivered in both English and French, covering subjects as diverse as space robotics and the search for alien life. Many of us have school-aged children who have been home for months, adding another full time job to our lives (oh, the fun of having to retreat to a closet for a telecon!). Initiatives such as astro-at-home have not only been vital in keeping our young ones stimulated and educated, but is also a shining example of creating an opportunity out of a crisis. The astro-at-home podcasts are being delivered by a diverse crew of passionate communicators, who will surely be role models for the thousands of viewers that astro-at-home has attracted. My daughter and I were certainly amongst those so inspired.

A complementary initiative is CANVAS – the CANadian Virtual Astronomy Seminars. For researchers, the summer months normally mark the peak of the conference season, as we make our international pilgrimages to share the latest astronomical discoveries. Conference attendance is particularly important for our junior researchers, not only to advertise their work, but also to learn from others. Current travel bans obviously erase this opportunity. Spear-headed by Dennis Crabtree (NRC Herzberg), CANVAS aims to bring research talks to our home offices, by coordinating a national seminar program. By recording these presentations, which will have contributions from graduate students through professors alike, CANVAS will also provide a lasting legacy and enable research communication across the country, benefitting in particular smaller or more geographically remote centres of research. I hope that in the future CANVAS will be even more ambitious and recruit speakers from around the world – what a wonderful way to maximize scientific communication at low carbon cost.

As a society, we experienced a major milestone with this year’s AGM, the first to be hosted entirely virtually. Under the chairmanship of Michael De Robertis, some two years-worth of planning and hard work had already been invested by the York University team to host CASCA 2020. The decision to move the AGM online was made in mid-March, leaving the organizing committee a scant two months to overhaul the meeting. The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) was quickly re-shuffled to an Online Organizing Committee (OOC): Elaina Hyde, Paul Delaney, Michael De Robertis, June Parsons, Sharon Morsink, Carter Rhea, Dennis Crabtree, Chris Matzner, Maan Hani, James Taylor and Rob Thacker. It was truly a mammoth task to bring everything together on such a short timescale, but their Herculean efforts led to an AGM to be proud of – an extremely well attended meeting offered at low cost, with low carbon footprint and featuring several novel components such as iPosters, a Youtube channel for all of the prize talks and conference photos via Zoom. It may also be the only time you will get to see astronomers doing back-flips on the beach. Although CASCA 2020 was a virtual meeting by necessity, it was an excellent opportunity to experiment with technologies that might be blended with future meetings. Exploring such options is one of the primary mandates of CASCA’s newly minted Sustainability Committee (chaired by Chris Matzner). Whether it be virtual, or in person, I look forward to seeing you all next May in Penticton, where CASCA 2021 will be co-hosted by DRAO and UBC.

Despite all the upheaval of the past months, one effort that is seemingly unperturbed in its forward progress is the development of our Long Range Plan (LRP). Under the deft and indefatigable leadership of co-chairs Pauline Barmby (Western) and Bryan Gaensler (Toronto/Dunlap) a draft of the principal content was circulated to the Society in mid-May and discussed at a well-attended AGM session. The scope of the LRP is impressive, tackling not only research-driven topics, such as observatory facilities, supercomputing and data-management, but with a holistic perspective of our professional landscape. Equity and diversity, education and public outreach, funding and governance are all tackled, as well as recommendations pertaining to ethics, sustainability and indigenous matters. A reminder that the CASCA committee reports submitted for the AGM are publicly available here, and cover many of these topics, including the latest updates from facilities such as TMT and SKA. For now, Coalition lobbying activities are dormant, and a return to such activities is likely to be staged and require both flexibility and opportunism. But with the LRP on track for completion in the Fall, I am confident that whenever the opportunities do re-open, we will be ready for them.

By / par Rob Thacker (CASCA President)
(Cassiopeia – Spring / printemps 2020)

Dear CASCA Members,
The past three months have been unprecedented in our lifetimes. We’re seeing the impact of COVID-19 across all levels of our lives, be they personal, professional, community, and beyond. The academy has been comparatively quick to act to transition to online services, but adjustments to our operations will continue to have to be made.

While many observatories are understandably having to suspend operations, organizationally, CASCA can function in an – almost – entirely electronically-mediated fashion. There is one exception, the Business Meeting, but we have a strategy to handle the bylaw expressly forbidding all-electronic meetings that will still allow significant online participation. We can’t take this bylaw lightly either as we are a legal corporation. However, one of the first pieces of business in the annual Business Meeting will be a bylaw update for exceptional circumstances.

Coalition Update

It’s been a comparatively quiet period for the Coalition, largely down to TMT discussions and updates to government now being handled by the NRC. The Coalition has been in direct contact with the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and we’ve been assured they are receiving frequent updates. Of course, many of you will have heard that the cost estimate for the project has now risen to $2.4B, while most of us appreciated this increase was inevitable the number is now public. CATAC has remained very active as you will see from their update to the community in this issue of Cassiopeia.

At the same time the SKA has moved forward notably, and the decision on the precise construction configuration is made. As hoped, no further descoping of the project is under consideration. This does mean a moderate increase in the project cost but since it has been decided before a precise ask for funds it can be handled. Canada’s proposed contribution remains around the 6% level, consistent with prior discussions of participation levels.

Where things get yet further uncertain is the release of the LRP and what will happen within the context of an economic stimulus package. Anyone doing research on the impact of the 1918/19 influenza pandemic will know that, by and large, economies recovered well. However, the precise factors involved in that recovery are debated, for example, the pandemic came shortly after a war and there was already a shortage of labour.

I hate to state the obvious, but the LRP will be released in a truly unprecedented era.

AGM

The in-person cancellation was a difficult but obviously necessary decision. While there is some expectation of an easing of restrictions on a 6-8-week timescale, we can still expect limitations on large gatherings for some time yet.

Many of you are no doubt wrestling with moving the last few days of class online so we can complete the current semester. As was already noted in the exploder email that I sent out, we have moved to form an “Online Organization Committee” or OOC (I’m pronouncing it “ook” like “look”). I’d hoped to be able to list all the members in this communique, but we’re still trying to pin down the last couple of people. Expect to hear more on this in the next few days.

I’ve had a couple of emails wondering why the planned online AGM is focused on contributed posters rather than contributed talks. In all honesty that’s down to what our organization can handle at this time. We’re already pulling in best-practice information, being in contact with the AAS, but starting with a plan that is “contained” allows us to build effectively.

The Future of CASCA

While my heart wants to talk about galaxy formation, my head is telling me that if I’m going to say anything in President’s Address I ought to talk about the future of CASCA. In addition to my Associate Dean/Outreach duties at SMU I’m also the Chief Negotiator for our faculty union. That has some interesting advantages in that I get access to some detailed organizational discussions, specifically the service vs mobilization approach to governing associations. Frustratingly, I wish I had known these things at the beginning of my Presidency. It would have been good to action a few of the concepts, but for now I’ll just say I think there are some good ideas we can utilize to make CASCA increasingly valuable and effective for our community. Tune in to the AGM for more.

So long

With my President’s term finishing at the Business Meeting in May, this marks my last Cassiopeia report! It’s been my sincere honour to serve in this role and to represent a community, that despite differences, is capable of open and frank discussions. I’ve learned a lot from many of you in my term as President, and I’m truly appreciative of that. Equally importantly, I again must thank all of you for volunteering your time, and for our staff their efforts, in support of CASCA and the wider aspirations of our community. CASCA simply doesn’t move forward without you!

With Sara Ellison stepping in the President’s office I know CASCA is headed on an even higher trajectory! Additionally, we’re writing up macro-schedules for officers, so each Board transition is hopefully getting just that bit easier. But it is a time of enormous upheaval as well, so I ask you all to be understanding and give Sara the support she’ll need during this transition period.

As we all face the threat of COVID-19 together, we need to support each other. I hope that you can find your own personal way to deal with the stresses this has brought, and to find a way to help others in your life.

I wish you all good health and, as much as can be expected, clarity of thought.

Take care everyone,
Rob

The Canadian Astronomical Society/Société Canadienne d’Astronomie (CASCA) was founded in 1971 and incorporated in 1983 as a society of professional astronomers. The society is devoted to the promotion and advancement of knowledge of the universe through research and education. In this capacity, CASCA is compelled to voice concerns over upcoming satellite constellations, both in terms of their potential impact on astronomy but also in relation to the wider picture of cooperation in the use of space.

We appreciate that many of the technologies now being deployed in orbit have potential benefits to humanity such as providing communication to areas that are underserved by current infrastructure. However, proposed plans have rapidly moved beyond those originally outlined and within a few years constellations may exceed current satellite numbers by 10-fold or higher. With no international oversight over the public commons that is Earth orbit, a likely outcome is that competition between multiple actors will push collision risks higher. The European Space Agency has already had to move a satellite to reduce the collision risk with a constellation currently under deployment.

Beyond this fundamental concern about the use of the Earth’s orbital resources, current analysis suggests tens of thousands of satellites deployed in orbit could pose an acute threat to wide-field, transient and radio astronomy. While arguably many aspects of astronomy are better undertaken from space, the costs associated with that approach make it unfeasible as a general solution.

Posing this debate as either astronomy or a global service of one form or another is a false dichotomy. Working together and having cooperative agreements in place can ensure that orbital resources are used safely and to their best effectiveness for economic, social and scientific purposes. CASCA is resolutely behind achieving this goal through collaboration with the private sector, government and other scientific communities.

Professor Robert Thacker
President CASCA, on behalf of the CASCA Board of Directors