2020 CASCA Awards

Dunlap Award

The Institute for Research on Exoplanets is proud to announce that René Doyon, Director of iREx and Professor at the Université de Montréal, is the recipient of the Canadian Astronomical Society’s Dunlap Award for Innovation in Astronomical Research Tools.

René Doyon. (Credit: Université de Montréal)

René Doyon led many infrared instrumentation projects during his career and his work has benefited virtually every Canadian astronomer who has ever made infrared observations. In particular, he is heavily involved in SPIRou, NIRPS and the NIRISS instrument onboard the James Webb Space Telescope, which will identify and characterise nearby habitable planets, in addition to enabling a variety of other astrophysical studies.

This CASCA award is given to an individual or team for the design, invention, or improvement of instrumentation or software that has enabled significant advances in astronomy.

Qilak Award

Julie Bolduc-Duval. (Credit: Dunlap Institut for Astronomy and Astrophysics)

In addition, Julie Bolduc-Duval, Executive Director of Discover the Universe, is the recipient of the Canadian Astronomical Society’s Qilak Award.

Ms. Bolduc-Duval is an outstanding communicator who has dedicated her career to making astronomy accessible to elementary and secondary school teachers. The Discover the Universe program which she initiated in 2009 has become Canada’s national, bilingual astronomy training program for educators across the country. The iREx is very pleased to collaborate with her on many projects.

The CASCA Qilak Award is intended to recognize the recipient’s outstanding contribution to public understanding and appreciation of astronomy in Canada, or to informal astronomy education in Canada.