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By November, the Society’s staff, library, furniture and artefacts will be back in Burlington House after an “exile” of 12 months. What will be different? Executive Secretary David Elliott explains. For a start, the walls, ceilings, floors and furniture will look different as a result of top-to-bottom redecora-tion. But this is a superficial change. Underneath the surface, structural repairs, as well as new wiring, cabling, drainage and ducting, will make the building “fit for purpose” in the 21st century, as well as conserve what is an important listed building.

But what Fellows will most appreci-ate are the additions that have been made possible by better use of space, which has also benefited from the choice of most editorial staff to work from home, now that both MNRAS

and GJI use a web-based submission and monitoring system. Above all, this has allowed us to reinstate the ground-level lecture theatre that was lost in the 1960s, but we have also been able to create extra office accom-modation. Once again we will be able to host our own meetings with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment for audiences of up to 100 (and to accom-modate many more via video link to plasma screens in the new Fellows and Council Rooms). Of course, subject to availability, Fellows will be able to use the facilities for other meetings (and outside bodies, given the premium on central London lecture rooms will, no doubt, queue up to hire them).

While the new Fellows Room, equipped with workstations as well as comfortable chairs, will be on the ground floor, the new Council Room

will be at the top of the building in what formerly housed part of the library reserve collection. This mag-nificent room, which, like the library, will double for use for receptions, will be reached by a lift, which glides in a new shaft illuminated with astronom-ical images. The Society’s rare books will be displayed properly, for the first time, in a climate-controlled room, while the reserve collection will go on to to moveable stacks in the base-ment. The basement will also provide cloakroom and catering facilities for the larger numbers of visitors.

This is a far cry from the apartments to which the Society moved (from Somerset House) in 1874 which were designed to provide spacious accom-modation for the Executive Secretary and his family and “below stairs” quarters for the domestic staff, while

catering for the scientific needs of a much smaller membership. In future, Fellows will let themselves in (using a new swipe card) and, except when a “real” person is needed, exchange greetings with our virtual reception-ists. Instead of the empty feel of the past few years, the premises should be buzzing with people attending lec-tures (including a new series of public lectures) or holding meetings (in the new Council Room) while out-of-town members will find it convenient to use the new Fellows Room as their London base.

The Society is bigger than Burling-ton House and broader than London and we aim to have more activities in other parts of the country, as well as online. However, our London base remains an enormous asset. Please use it – it’s yours!

Burlington House: work in progress

Can you tell what it is yet? 1: Entrance hall. 2: Council Room. 3: Library. 4: Meeting Room ceiling. 5: Meeting Room.

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Society NewS

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Society NewS

Lectures on laptopsFellows�are�reminded�that�some�of�the�discussion�meetings�and�lectures�from�the�2006/07�season�can�be�seen�again�as�webcasts�via�the�RAS�website.�These�include�recent�Whitrow,�Bullerwell�and�Harold�Jeffreys�Lectures.�There’s�a�link�to�the�webcasts�in�the�Meetings�section�of�the�RAS�website.�When�you�first�visit,�you�will�be�asked�to�register�in�order�for�the�Society�to�keep�track�of�how�many�people�are�using�this�service.�In�addition,�Fellows�are�most�welcome�to�give�feedback�on�this�service.�If�you�have�comments,�please�contact�Ron�Wiltshire.ronw@ras.org.uk

Stonehenge storyThe�first�astronomical�topic�in�the��Burlington�House�Lectures�was�aired�on�21�June,�the�summer�solstice,�when�Prof.�Darvill�of�the�Society�of�Antiquaries�and�Prof.�Ruggles�of�the�Antiquaries�and�the�RAS�spoke�about�Stonehenge�to�an�appreciative�audience�in�the�Geological�Society.�

NewS iN Brief

NEWS AND REVIEWS INASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS

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News aNd Reviews iNastRoNomy & GeophysicsFebruary 2007 • Vol. 48 • Issue 1

Gravitational wavesMolecules and icesCore collapse supernovaeCosmoclimatology: a new approach?

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One of the fundamental purposes of this Society is to support research in astronomy and geophysics. The most direct expression of that sup-port is in the award of grants to individuals, especially to fund the sort of projects that are not covered by research council awards.In this and other activities that the Society undertakes to represent these sciences, the RAS is dependent on its established and carefully managed funds, augmented by income from publications and from legacies.

Many Fellows have left bequests to the RAS, and many of these form the basis of the grants that the Soci-ety is able to award. RAS grants and awards have benefited both independ-ent scholars and established academ-ics and they support undergraduates getting a taste of research on vaca-tion projects, for example. The Nor-man Lockyer Fellowship has also given several postdoctoral scientists valuable and timely opportunities to develop their research while still at an early stage. Support for students and early-caree researchers is a particular goal of the RAS.

It is hoped that Fellows will consider whether they can help the Society in future through a legacy. The Society offers confidential help to Fellows considering such a bequest; there is also summary information on the website, about types of bequests, for example, and suitable forms of words for making or amending your will.Fellows may specify that any bequest should be used to support particular intersts, such as the research and grants fund, or to benefit educa-tion. Fellows may also specify that the Society should select a focus for the legacy. A bequest to the General Purposes Fund, for example, would sustain the day-to-day activities of the Society, perhaps by developing the meeting programme.

Fellows who are considering mak-ing such a legacy are strongly urged to contact the Treasurer (treasurer@ras.org.uk) to discuss their wishes. The Society is keen to ensure that the Fel-low’s wishes are clearly understood and can be carried out; the RAS would also like to be able to recognize the generosity of such a forward-thinking gesture, if the Fellow agrees.

The Queen’s Birthday Honours list announced on 16 June contained some familiar names from astronomy. Prof. Mark Bailey (1) of Armagh Observatory, currently a Vice-President of the RAS, was awarded an MBE and Dr Heather Couper (2), former President of the British Astronomical Association, a CBE. Prof. Nigel Mason (3) of the Open University and inaugural Director of the Milton Keynes Science Festival received an OBE. Prof. Jocelyn Bell-Burnell (4), President of the RAS from 2002–2004, was awarded a DBE – and an Honorary Doctorate from Harvard University. In addition, Prof. Lord Rees (5), Astronomer Royal, president of the Royal Society and President of the RAS from 1992–1994, was appointed to the Order of Merit.

Thesis prizesIt is time for supervisors to con-sider the annual RAS doctoral thesis prizes, offered in the fields of astronomy or astrophysics (The Michael Penston Astronomy Prize), and geophysics, solar–terrestrial physics or planetary science (The RAS Blackwell Prize).Each prize offers the author of the winning thesis £1000 and the oppor-tunity to present their work at an Ordinary (A&G) Meeting of the Soci-ety. The deadline for consideration is 31 January following the calendar year in which the thesis was recom-mended for award by the examiners.

The submission must be made by a member of the RAS, normally the stu-dent’s supervisor or examiner. They should send to Executive Secretary David Elliott a citation of less than 500 words, the thesis abstract and the names of two referees, one of whom should be from a different educational institute. These are often the external and internal examiners of the thesis. Students of any nationality are eligible for these prizes, provided they were registered students of a UK university. Note that students do not have to be members of the RAS to be considered for these prizes. Full details are avail-able on the RAS website.

The Society and legacies

Queen honours Fellows1 2 3

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