SLAS Special Awards Program

Click Here to download the full form for nominations for the SLAS awards!

Purpose

This program is to recognize individuals (members and non-members) who help contribute to SLAS’ mission statement “… for the educational purpose of encouragement of interest in and the dissemination of knowledge of the science of astronomy.”  This program will not affect or replace recognition programs for Public Outreach through the Night Sky Network, or the Continuous Years of Service Awards.
The awards described below are a mixture of “member-only” recognition awards and those that could be awarded to non-members.
The Executive Board designed this program around 5 named awards; each recognizing a different area of contribution or service to SLAS. The following process will guide the program:

Award Nomination Process and Guidelines

Nominations are generally restricted to SLAS members only. All nominations from non-members must be approved by the program chair.
Nominations must be submitted using the form downloaded from the SLAS website.
It is the responsibility of the nominator to demonstrate how their nominee meets the criteria described for the award.
Persons can be nominated for more than one award.
Nomination forms will remain valid for 3 years after initial submission. The Award Review Committee will be responsible for retaining all valid nomination forms.

Nominations will open on Jan 1^st for the calendar year.

The deadline for nominations is Sep 1^st of each calendar year.

The completed form should be attached to an email and sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line Award Nomination Form Submission.

The Award Review Committee will meet and select awardees by Oct 1^st.
The Award Review Committee will purchase awards and present them at the December general membership meeting.
The committee reserves the right to reject or return any nomination form to the nominator if the submission needs further substantiation, clarification, or re-classification to a different award category.
The Award Review Committee may propose program changes to the Executive Board for review/approval. If approved, the committee will update this document accordingly.
The program will be executed using the current version of this document as of the nomination opening day.
The committee will request and manage budget requests and expenditures to ensure smooth operation of the program. Note —The Annual Budget includes funding of the awards under the recognition committee.

Instructions for Submission of Nominations

1. Person making nomination:

Nominator please tell us about yourself.

Name:
Preferred Email Address:
Please enter your telephone number with area code:
Home Phone:
Home Address:
City:                                                                            State:                Zip Code:

2. Award Categories

There are five award categories in the document below.  Please read the descriptions for each award, then fill out the information for the person you wish to nominate for a particular award below the description.  You may nominate a person for multiple awards, but you may only nominate one person per award.

The Albert M. Obrecht, Founders Award
The Lois D. Fitter Outreach Award
The Richard D. Schwartz Supportive Faculty Award
The Robert E. Cox Popular Astronomy Award
The Alfred L. Woods Mentoring Award

3. Submission of form

The completed form should be attached to an email and sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line Award Nomination Form Submission.

Award Descriptions:

The Albert M. Obrecht Founders Award

In January 1936, Albert Obrecht (1883-1955) founded the St Louis Amateur Astronomical Society. Albert and a small group of members established the first Constitution and By-Laws. Officers and committees and budgets were established to provide the perpetual structure for stability and growth. The mission of the society was established in the Preamble of the Constitution as: "...to promote and diffuse the knowledge of astronomy...". Albert remained a member until at least 1954. The society was renamed St Louis Astronomical Society during Albert's tenure and SLAS remains committed to the legacy handed down by these original founders. In the spirit of Albert M. Obrecht, the Founder Award should be given to a board or committee person for their service to SLAS. The nominee must be a SLAS member. The nominee should have past or current positions as an officer or committee member. The nominee should demonstrate their contribution to the operation, stability and growth of the society.

The Lois D. Fitter Outreach Award

Lois Diane Fitter (1943-2016) served SLAS in many capacities. Lois was a member of SLAS from 1985 until her death in 2016. Lois was a former SLAS President and Committee chair and a telescope maker. Lois will be remembered for her enthusiastic astronomy outreach events. In a time when no one really kept track of volunteer hours. Lois was out there showing kids and adults views through one of her homemade telescopes, creating a sense of wonder and excitement wherever she went. She was certainly not afraid of the dark and would take her Subaru to dark sites around the area to work on her own projects and hone her skills. She was a very capable astronomer and speaker. Lois setup the original outreach plan for coordination with schools and organizations. She logged her events and established long lasting relationships with these organizations. In the spirit of Lois D. Fitter, the Outreach Award should be given to a SLAS member with the most dedicated or most improved public outreach impact as a participant or coordinator

The Richard D. Schwartz Supportive Faculty Award

Richard Dean Schwartz, PhD (1941-2011), was professor of astronomy at University of Missouri- St Louis from 1975 to 2003. When Dick arrived at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1975, he was the only astronomer in the Department of Physics. He built the astronomy program and initiated the B.S. in physics with an astrophysics option. Dick compiled a distinguished record of research that gave him an international reputation as an astrophysicist. During his career, Dick pioneered a new research area studying the energetic mass loss in young stars, there have been over 2000 citations to his 80 scientific papers. In 1999 he received the Chancellor’s Award for Research and Creativity for his distinguished research record. Dick became a member of SLAS shortly after coming to St Louis and would present his research at SLAS meetings. In the spirit of Richard D. Schwartz, the Supportive Faculty Award should be given to a local educator at K-12 or college level who supports the mission of SLAS by providing astronomy-related talks to SLAS or the St Louis area. The nominee does not have to be SLAS member.

The Robert E. Cox Popular Astronomy Award

Robert Edward Cox (1917-1989) moved to St Louis in 1960 to work for the McDonnell Aircraft Company. His optical shop produced prototypes in connection with flight testing of Voodoo and Phantom fighter planes, as well as for the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft. Optics from his shop flew on all American manned space missions up through Gemini 8. Cox retired from McDonnell-Douglas in 1982. Bob was Sky and Telescope's "Gleanings for ATMs" column editor from 1956 to 1977. Bob received the Astronomical League Award in 1962 and the Clifford Holmes Award in 1980. Bob was a member of SLAS from 1960 until his death in 1989. Bob was an early supporter for the building of the McDonnell Planetarium and taught numerous classes at the planetarium after it opened. Through his talks and articles Bob help popularize astronomy and telescope making locally, nationally and internationally. In the spirit of Robert E Cox, the Popular Astronomy Award should be given to a local amateur who publishes or produces work recognized at a regional or national level or having major contribution to popularizing astronomy at the regional or national level. The nominee does not have to be SLAS member.

The Alfred L. Woods Mentoring Award

Alfred Lee Woods (1911-2004) was a member of SLAS since the mid-1960's and was elected to a term as a board member at large to the board of directors. Al was the 1993 Amateur of the Year for the Mid-States region of the Astronomical league. Al was a gifted telescope maker and optical fabricator. Al could grind and polish mirrors and lenses to ultimate precision. Al fabricated a number of very difficult telescope designs including 2 and 3-mirror Schiefspiegler telescopes. Al mentored amateur telescope makers across the globe. Al educated his follow amateurs at the annual SLAS Homemade Fest. Al’s designs were featured on Amateur Telescope Making magazine and other publications. In the spirit of Alfred L Woods, the SLAS Mentoring Award should be given to a SLAS member for mentorship in astronomy, telescope and gadget making to fellow amateurs.

Have you ever wanted to learn about the science of astronomy?  Or wanted to know more about the night sky?  Or learn how to buy or use a telescope?

Becoming a member of SLAS is a great way to connect with local amateur astronomers who share your passion.  Most importantly, our members are willing to share their knowledge with you so that you can achieve your personal goals.  Membership in SLAS gives your member only access to a number of resources including our loaner telescope program and astronomy library.  You can get special discounts on astronomy magazine and automatic membership in the Astronomical league.

Benefits of membership in SLAS include: 

• Monthly educational meetings (usually the third Friday of each month at 7:30 pm at Washington University in the McDonnell Hall Auditorium) 
• Monthly SLAS newsletter
• Annual social events including the summer Star-B-Q and winter Homemade-Fest
• Discounts on astronomy magazines and books from the Astronomical League 
• Borrow from the 900+ astronomical related publications and books in the SLAS library
• Borrow from our “loaner telescope” inventory to become familiar with a variety of telescopes before you buy
• Automatic membership in the Astronomical League
• Participate in observing programs sponsored by the Astronomical League
• Members-only online community ("SLASDialogues").

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SLASDialogs is an online discussion group.  Only members of the St. Louis Astronomical Society are eligible to join SLASdialogs.

Benefits of Dialogs

• Use email to share and participate in astronomy-related activities and discussions with other members of the SLAS.
• Chat with your friends in the society
• Exchange ideas and opinions
• Talk about the things in astronomy that interest you

  Read more: SLAS Dialogs