ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA

The David Allen Prize

The David Allen Prize is intended to mark the work of David Allen, who made major contributions to Australian astronomy, both as a practitioner and as a publicist. David Allen died in 1994. He was the first permanent staff astronomer at the Anglo-Australian Observatory and past-President of the Astronomical Society of Australia. He had a strong commitment to advancing the public understanding of astronomy and a unique ability to get his message across, culminating in the award of the 1993 Eureka Prize for the Promotion of Science.

The David Allen Prize will foster public interest in astronomy by rewarding the best contribution, or series of contributions, published in the previous calendar year in any form of media that is widely accessible to Australians, which portrays an astronomical theme in an exciting and educative manner and which informs the general public in understandable language, while retaining the integrity of the science. Eligibility for the prize shall be restricted to Australian residents.

The David Allen Prize is the newest of a series of prizes awarded by the ASA in recognition of excellence in astronomy in Australia.

The trustees for the Prize are Michael Burton (UNSW), Marc Duldig (University of Tasmania), David Malin (AAO) and Helen Sim (ATNF/AAO). Nominations for the 2001 inaugural prize were solicited in the popular astronomy press and elsewhere. Four nominations were recieved and material submitted by the nomineees (and sometime obtained independently by the assessors) was considered by a panel consisting of Carol Allen (David Allen's widow), Marc Duldig, David Malin and Peter Pockley, Nature magazine's Australian correspondent and well known science communicator.

The winner of the inaugural David Allen Prize is Jonathan Nally

The judges recognised Jonathan's major contributions to popularising astronomy through his radio broadcasts and through Sky & Space magazine. The judges particularly recognised the clarity of his presentations, the evident depth of knowledge that underpinned them and his enthusiasm for communication. This also shines through in the magazine, which, while intended for a somewhat narrower audience, is also a substantial contribution to the readily available literature on astronomy.

Arrangements for awarding the Prize are still being finalised and will be announced as soon as possible.

Funding for the Prize

The David Allen Prize will be funded through the ASA's Foundation for the Advancement of Astronomy (FAA). The FAA is a tax-deductible Foundation intended to enhance the ASA's efforts to promote Astronomy and related fields in Australia, and to recognise and support excellence in those fields. The purposes of the FAA are very broadly defined to allow the support of prizes, scholarships, research and facilities.

The success of the David Allen Prize and the FAA's ability to support other activities depends on the level of funding available, and hence on the financial support of ASA members and the public. The ASA invites you to make a donation (tax-deductible for Australian residents) to support the goals of the FAA. You may specify that your donation be used to support the David Allen Prize or make it available to the general purposes of the Foundation.

A form to facilitate a donation can be found on the FAA web page.

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Draft update by David Malin, 20 June, 2001
Additions or corrections to John O'Byrne, ASA Secretary j.obyrne@physics.usyd.edu.au