Nominations are invited for this year's Raynor L. Duncombe Student Research Prizes of the Division on Dynamical Astronomy. Each year since 1995, the DDA has provided on a competitive basis travel stipends and waived registration and banquet costs for a select group of students presenting contributed research at the annual meeting. At the last in-person meeting in 2019, the travel stipend was $600.
The competition is open to all students currently enrolled in an academic program (undergraduate or graduate) at any college or university and doing research in the area of dynamical astronomy. The DDA strongly encourages Duncombe prize applications from members of underrepresented groups in dynamical astronomy.
The Raynor L. Duncombe Student Research Prize of the DDA shall be granted on the basis of the following criteria:
- excellence and originality of scientific research to be presented at the annual meeting,
- interest in and engagement with the field of dynamical astronomy, and
- with the DDA’s intention of increasing access, equitableness, and inclusiveness of the annual meeting.
For the purposes of this award, the field of Dynamical Astronomy contains but is not limited to the sub-fields of celestial mechanics, astrometry, geophysics, cosmology, and star and planet formation as well as Solar System, exoplanet, planetary system, stellar system, galactic, extra-galactic, relativistic, and astrophysical fluid dynamics. The Duncombe Student Research Prizes committee (listed here) has final authority over the appropriateness of a nomination.
Nomination procedure and requirements:
Nominations for the 2022 prizes are due by March 7, 2021.
Important note: Applicants for a Duncombe Prize must also submit their meeting abstract via the abstract submission site.
Note on self-nominations: Following the practice recently adopted by the AAS, we now accept self-nominations for all prizes. We intend that the prize selection committee will be "blind" regarding whether a candidate was nominated by someone else or was self-nominated. Accordingly, the letter of recommendation must say something like "I am writing to support the nomination of [candidate's name]" rather than "I am writing to nominate [candidate's name]." Any letter of recommendation that suggests that the author is directly "nominating" the candidate rather than "supporting the nomination of" the candidate will be returned for a rewrite.