The SocietyThe Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) was formed in 1966 as the organisation of professional astronomers in Australia. It was incorporated in the ACT in 1993. The operation of the Society is governed by its Constitution and By-laws and administered by its Council. Association Number : A2224 Australian Business Number (ABN) : 37 660 297 848 |
THE ASA CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS á á | á á PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL REPORT á á | á á THE ASA COUNCIL á á | á á COUNCIL OFFICER ADDRESSES |
The Society provides a representative on:
- the National Committee for Astronomy (NCA) of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS). The AAS is Australia's link with the International Council for Science (ICSU) and its constituent bodies and committees, in particular the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The NCA is the standing committee of the AAS which advises on astronomical matters including international relationships.
- the Australian Gemini Steering Committee that oversees the operation of the Australian Gemini Office and advises the Australian Government on matters relating to Australian membership of the International Gemini Partnership.
- the Standards Australia committee LG2 (Road Lighting) and LG10 (Obtrusive Lighting)
- the Board of the Macquarie University Foundation for Astronomy
- the committee administering the Donovan Astronomical Trust.
The ASA is Trustee of the 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 Society is a member of:
- the Federation of Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS) which aims to represent the interests of scientists and technologists throughout Australia.
- the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) which aims to to preserve and protect the nighttime environment.
IAU 2003 - XXVth General Assembly (GA) of the IAUThrough the NCA and ASA, Australian astronomers accepted an invitation by the IAU to host the XXVth General Assembly (GA) of the IAU between July 13 and 26, 2003. Many ASA members participated in all aspects of the organisation of the General Assembly which was extremely succesful, presenting Australian astronomy to the visiting astronomers and the public.
The Final Report (pdf 43 pages/480kB) on the General Assembly is available, along with Report Annexes (pdf 116 pages/3.8MB) giving more details and associated documents.
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President's Annual Report
Prior to this, written President's reports were distributed at the Annual General Meeting, but Society activity was also summarised in the Activity Report published in PASA.
Activity Reports
The ASA Council
The business of the Society is conducted by a Council elected by a ballot (if necessary) of the members each year.
The current Council members are:
- President
- Assoc. Prof. Anne Green (U. of Sydney)
- Vice-President
- Prof. Gary Da Costa (ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics)
- Immediate Past President
- Dr Dick Manchester (Australia Telescope National Facility [ATNF])
- Secretaries
- Dr Marc Duldig (Antarctic Division)
- Dr John O'Byrne (U. of Sydney)
- Treasurer
- Dr Maria Cunningham (UNSW)
- Councillors
- Dr David Blair (University of Western Australia)
- Dr Paul Cally (Monash University)
- Dr Matthew Colless (Anglo-Australian Observatory)
- Dr Michael Drinkwater (University of Queensland)
- Prof. Brad Gibson (Swinburne University)
- Dr Paul Cally (Monash University)
- Chair, Editorial Advisory Committee for PASA
- Dr John Lattanzio (Monash University)
- Representative on the Donovan Astronomical Trust and the Macquarie University Foundation for Astronomy
- Dr Roy Allen (Macquarie U.)
The Council also invites one student member to attend meetings as an observer, to represent the interests Australian postgraduate students at the meeting and report back to the student members. The student representative is currently Vicky Safouris (vicky@mso.anu.edu.au) from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Past Council members are listed in the following files:
- Presidents
- Vice-Presidents
- Immediate Past Presidents
- Secretaries
- Treasurers
- PASA Editors, now Chair EAC
- Donovan Astronomical Trust representatives
- General Committee members
- By name