Ron Probst (rprobst@noao.edu)
In a ceremony held in the CTIO Library in May, AURA President Goetz Oertel distributed AURA science and service awards to several staff.
Science awards went to Nick Suntzeff, Co-Principal Investigator (with Brian Schmidt, Mt. Stromlo Observatory) on the High-Z Supernova Project, and to local project team members Bob Schommer and Chris Smith, for their efforts in using supernovae to determine the distance scale of the Universe. The startling conclusion reached by this group, and by an independent effort led by Saul Perlmutter (Berkeley), is that the expansion of the Universe appears to be accelerating. This result was named by the journal Science as the top scientific discovery for 1998. It has had great impact not only scientifically, but also in the popular press, contributing to the public perception of astronomy as an exciting cultural endeavor. Far from resting on these well-deserved laurels, Nick will be on sabbatical in Australia in early 1999 to continue his work in this field in association with Dr. Schmidt.
AURA presented a service award to longtime CTIO administrative staff member Elaine Mac-Auliffe "for her sustained outstanding service in pursuit of the AURA mission in Chile." Elaine's dedication to the highest possible level of service in support of our mission is well known to CTIO staff and scientific visitors. Elaine is now Administrative Assistant to the Director of the AURA Observatory in Chile, and to the NOAO Associate Director of CTIO.