Gold Medal (A)

The Gold Medal is the highest award in the Society's gift, and the Byelaws leave the Council complete freedom as to the grounds on which it is awarded. However, in the past the Council has taken into consideration not only outstanding personal researches in the fields of astronomy but also the more general contributions to this subject that may be made through leadership in research programmes, through education and through scientific administration. It has often been awarded as recognition of a lifetime's work, though it has also been awarded for a specific piece of research.

To nominate for the Gold Medal in Astronomy

Nominations should be submitted by 31 July, for the following year's awards and should include:

• The online nomination form.
• Curriculum Vitae. This should be no longer than 4 pages long.  If the CV is not in the public domain, please ensure that you have the nominee's permission to pass on to a third party. Please note that not all award nominations require CVs or publication lists
• The top 10 key refereed publications (preferably with citation data. Ideally, this publication list should be extracted from the Web of Science)
• Your nomination (minimum length 300 words, maximum length 600 words). This should address how the nominee fulfills the criteria of the Award, and also include the nominee's present career stage, the nominee's present post, and other awards and honours. Successful nominations argue a strong case for why the nominee deserves the award over and above one of their peers working in the same area. It is helpful if the nomination is phrased in such a way that extracts from it can be used in the formal recommendation of the Committee. The panel would also find it helpful if more general information on the nominee’s contributions to the community could be included. For example, mentoring, public engagement work, leadership, committee/panel service, etc. The panel appreciates that such activity will vary according to the career stage of the nominee.
• Additionally, please give details of two referees. Please ensure you have contacted the referees and that they agree to write a letter of support. They will receive an automated email from us once the nomination has been submitted.

Fill out the form here.