​​Starting with the upcoming Oxford Meeting in 2025, ISAAC will offer a range of prizes, which will be announced at each "Oxford" General Meeting. Awardees will be notified before the meeting and will be invited to present a talk during the meeting at which they are awarded their prize.

 

Prizes are reviewed and selected by a committee composed of ISAAC Full Members and Fellows. Prizes have strict eligibility requirements, so please ensure nominees fare eligible before applying.

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PRIZE CATEGORIES

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Four (4) prizes are available every Oxford Meeting from 2025. You will be required to acknowledge that you have read the rules before submitting your nomination. You can read them at the bottom of this page.

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Newgrange Prize

 

This is awarded to the best doctoral thesis/dissertation that sheds a new light on the study of cultural astronomy, named for the Neolithic burial mound in Ireland that fills with sunlight on the mid-winter solstice.

 

Open to Associate Members, Full Members, and Fellows.

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Please include the following documents in your submission:

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1. Two (2) letters of recommendation by ISAAC members (Full or Fellow),

2. A copy of the examiner reports, and

3. A copy of the transcript or award letter for the degree (showing final marks, if available).

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Matariki Prize

 

Awarded for outstanding contributions to the public promotion, education, and profile of cultural astronomy, named after the Maori (New Zealand) festival of the New Year, marked by the heliacal rising of the Pleiades.

 

Open to Associate Members, Full Members, and Fellows.

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Please include the following documents in your submission:​

 

1. Two (2) letters of recommendation by ISAAC members (Full or Fellow);

2. A copy or description of the body of work/outreach;

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Antikythera Prize

 

Awarded for an exceptional piece of peer-reviewed research that makes an outstanding contribution to the study of cultural astronomy. Named for the 2,000 year old computational device that revolutionized our understanding of Greek astronomy.

 

Open to Associate Members, Full Members, and Fellows.

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Please include the following documents in your submission:​

 

1. Two (2) letters of recommendation by ISAAC members (Full or Fellow);

2. A copy of the nominated research.

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Chankillo Prize

 

Awarded to Fellows for an outstanding track record and lifetime service (20 years or more) to the study of cultural astronomy, named after the thirteen towers of Chankillo in Peru, which mark the position of the setting sun throughout the year.

 

Open to Fellows only.

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Two (2) letters of recommendation by ISAAC Fellows;

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DEADLINE

 

All nominations must be submitted to the committee chair 90 days before the start of the Oxford meeting. Theses must be final accepted versions with all final corrections made. Theses must have been approved by the nominees home institution by the deadline, but the degree does not have to be conferred by that date. For Oxford XIII / IAUS399, the deadline is 15 April 2025.

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ELIGIBILITY

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• Only financially current Members can be nominated for prizes;​

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• Only financially current Full Members and Fellows may provide letters of recommendation for the Newgrange Prize;

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• Members may only submit one (1) letter of recommendation for the Newgrange Prize;​​

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• Nominees for the Antikythera Prize must have published their research within the previous four (4) years of the deadline. Research presented as preprints or "in press" are ineligible.

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• Nominees for the Newgrange Prize must have completed their degree within the previous four (4) years of the deadline.

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