Sky & Telescope - December 2024 - 10

NEWS NOTES
OUTREACH
Young Astronomer Wins
Stellafane Award
THE ORGANIZERS OF Stellafane, the
century-old convention held annually
in Springfield, Vermont, awards
prizes every year to telescope makers
(S&T: Aug. 2023, p. 60). This year, the
convention introduced a new one: the
Raymond Fairbanks Youth Outreach
Award, named in honor of the youngest
member of the original group of
amateur telescope makers who founded
Stellafane. And the honor couldn't have
gone to a more deserving recipient.
Kaitlynn Goulette, of Westfield,
Massachusetts, became interested in
astronomy before she even started kindergarten,
watching planetarium shows
with her mother at the Springfield
Science Museum. During those visits,
Goulette learned about and ultimately
joined the Springfield STARS, a local
astronomy club. Her interest was such
that her parents even bought her a telescope
for her sixth birthday.
OBITUARIES
David Crawford, 1931-2024
WITH THE PASSING OF David L. Crawford,
at age 93, we have lost the person
who taught the world about light pollution
and warned us all of the threat it
poses, not only to astronomy but also to
the entire nocturnal environment.
Crawford didn't intend to become
a crusader for dark skies. After receiving
his doctorate in astronomy from
the University of Chicago in 1958, he
spent most of his career with the Kitt
Peak National Observatory (KPNO).
There, his research probed the structure
and evolution of open star clusters and
galaxies, and he soon found himself in
charge of building a 4-meter telescope
at Kitt Peak.
By then, Tucson had grown to a half
million people - all living within 60
miles of Kitt Peak's growing telescope
complex. Crawford, who also managed
KPNO's dark-sky office, worked with
the city's leaders to enact outdoor-light10
DECEMBER 2024 * SKY & TELESCOPE
even combine efforts for special astronomy
events.
Goulette also created a monthly
newsletter, The Starry Scoop, as a way for
the members of her elementary school
astronomy club to stay in touch during
the COVID-19 pandemic. She expected
it to be a small-scale publication, but
now she continues to write and distribute
it as its audience has grown.
At the Stellafane convention last
August, Outreach Coordinator Carl
Malikowski presented Goulette with the
outreach award - much to her surprise.
" Stimulating interest in astronomy
pKaitlynn Goulette, the first-ever recipient of
the Raymond Fairbanks Youth Outreach Award,
holds her plaque with Carl Malikowski, Stellafane
Club Outreach Director.
When Goulette, now a junior,
started at Westfield High School, she
founded the school's first astronomy
club. But that wasn't her first astronomy
club - it was her third! She had
founded clubs at her elementary and
middle schools, too. The three clubs
ing regulations protecting
the pristine darkness
over KPNO facilities. As
part of this work, Crawford
connected with
amateur astronomer Tim
Hunter, and together they
founded the International
Dark-Sky Association in
1988. So began a decadeslong
quest to change the
world's approach to nighttime
illumination.
By 2001, when I first met " Dr. Dave, "
he had retired from Kitt Peak and
was devoting all his time to IDA as its
unpaid executive director. He was disarmingly
soft-spoken but clearly driven
in his quest to save the night sky.
In 2008, after 20 years at the helm of
IDA, Crawford retired to the San Diego
area, where he and his wife, Mary,
lived for many years near and with Lisa
Crawford Bruhn, one of their three
daughters. (Mary died in 2012.) Meanwhile,
IDA (recently renamed DarkSky
and telescope-making is our passion
at Springfield Telescope Makers and
our focus for our outreach programs, "
Malikowski says. " Recognizing youth
who share this same passion and whose
efforts are deemed exceptional by others
in our astronomy community is what
the Raymond Fairbanks Youth Outreach
Award is all about. I cannot think of a
more deserving person to be the first
recipient of this Award. "
¢DIANA HANNIKAINEN
International) has only
grown in size, reach, and
stature. Today, it boasts
members and advocates
in all 50 U.S. states and
more than 70 countries.
" IDA has far outgrown its
founders and surpassed
our every hope for it, "
observes Hunter.
Among numerous
awards, Crawford was
honored with the Illuminating Engineering
Society Medal in 2021 in recognition
of decades of engagement with
lighting professionals. In fact, Crawford's
greatest legacy is the realization
that light pollution is a problem not
just for astronomers, but also for every
aspect of the nighttime environment -
from fireflies and pollinators to human
health. As lighting engineer James
Benya points out, " How far we have
come and how much we have changed
is, in the beginning, because of Dave. "
¢J. KELLY BEATTY
KAITLYNN GOULETTE: DONALD GOULETTE; DAVID CRAWFORD: LISA CRAWFORD BRUHN
Sky & Telescope - December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - December 2024
