May 22, 2008, Victoria, BC – The 2008 Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal has been presented to retired National Research Council scientist Dr. Sidney van den Bergh, a world-renowned astronomer, in recognition of his lifetime achievement, at the annual meeting of the Canadian Astronomical Society. Dr. van den Bergh is only the second Canadian recipient in the 110-year history of this prestigious award. Coincidentally, he served as Director of the very observatory founded 90 years ago this month by the only other Canadian medallist, John Stanley Plaskett.
Best known for his work on galaxies and the stars that make them up, Dr. van den Bergh is a prolific writer who has published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers covering a vast array of astronomical subjects. He has made fundamental contributions to the study of nearby galaxies, including the many small "dwarf" galaxies surrounding our own Milky Way, and her twin sister, the Andromeda galaxy, and to systems for classifying galaxies based on their visual appearance. His early studies of galaxies examined how their intrinsic properties varied with visual appearance and overall brightness. He has also made significant contributions to our understanding of the size and age of the Universe, and his research has had a major influence on our knowledge of star clusters, supernovae, and the chemical evolution of the Universe. His research has helped us to understand how our Universe makes galaxies, how the galaxies make stars, and how the stars in turn affect their host galaxies and influence the formation of future generations of stars.
Dr. van den Bergh's long and distinguished career has included teaching at the Ohio State University and the University of Toronto; many of his former students have gone on to become leaders in numerous fields of stellar and galactic research. This was followed by an appointment as research scientist at the National Research Council of Canada Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (NRC-DAO). As director of NRC-DAO (1977 – 86), Dr. van den Bergh oversaw a period of growth in research and technical productivity. He has served as President and Chairman of the Board of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation, as President of the Canadian Astronomical Society, and as Vice President of the International Astronomical Union. He was also inducted into the Royal Society of London, which is the national academy of science of the United Kingdom, and has been made an Officer of the Order of Canada. On his official retirement from NRC in 1998, he was named an NRC Researcher Emeritus and has since remained active in research and publication. Very few individuals during the past half-century can boast of such a sweeping impact on international astronomy and astrophysics.
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