Dr. Stephen Jeans receives RASC Peter Sims Public Education Award for astronomy outreach at Ambrose University

March 30, 2026 - Faculty of Arts and Sciences - Ambrose University, Calgary, Alberta 

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada honours the Ambrose University science educator for over a decade of astronomy education, community science events, and public outreach in Calgary.

There is a potato on Dr. Stephen Jeans' desk and it’s not for lunch; it's shaped like an asteroid and has a story to tell. For more than a decade at Ambrose University in Calgary, Jeans has been the kind of educator who knows that science doesn't stick until it surprises you, until it makes you laugh and you can hold it in your hands.

This year, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC), Calgary Centre, a 158-year-old institution dedicated to the advancement of astronomy and the related sciences, recognized exactly that spirit by naming Dr. Jeans the recipient of the 2026 Peter Sims Public Education Award, the Calgary Centre's most prestigious and exclusive honour.

THE TEACHER BEHIND THE TELESCOPE

Ask any of the more than two thousand students who have passed through Dr. Jeans' classes and you'll hear the same thing: this is science you can feel. Telescopes. Rocks from the cosmos. Pickles and beach balls to explain stars and planets. His courses in Astronomy, Geology, Geography, and Environmental Science are connected by a single thread - how we understand and care for the world we inhabit, and any future world we might choose.

Dr. Jeans has organized star parties, eclipse events, meteor watches, aurora nights, comet hunts, and Christmas star celebrations on the Ambrose University campus usually several times a year, opening the campus to the families and friends of students, and to anyone within earshot of a press release. When a course goes online, he finds ways to bring hands-on science into students' homes.

BEYOND CAMPUS

Dr. Jeans' public astronomy outreach in Calgary extends far beyond Ambrose's Mahood Commons. Local schools, community clubs, the Calgary Public Library, and the Girl Guides of Canada have all welcomed him; and the Girl Guides awarded him their Stargazer badge, making him an honorary Girl Guide.

As one of the RASC's media spokespersons for astronomy in Calgary, Dr. Jeans is a familiar face on local airwaves. His latest venture is a monthly Ask an Astronomer segment with CTV News — a partnership between the RASC, the University of Calgary, and Ambrose University — where he and colleagues answer astronomy questions from Calgarians curious about the sky above them.

For the broader public, Dr. Jeans answers emails from people of all ages, shares astronomy information graphics families can use at home, and meets curious visitors who arrive on campus with binoculars, telescopes, or library books looking for a place to start their own science story.

"He loves what he does — bringing in potatoes that look like asteroids and comets, conducting experiments that involve pickles and beach balls to explain how stars and planets are researched and explained." — RASC Calgary Centre award nomination, 2026

ABOUT THE AWARD

The Peter Sims Public Education Award is given to a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada for exemplary, ongoing contribution to the advancement of astronomy and the communication of that science to undergraduate learners and the public through education and outreach. It is the Calgary Centre's most exclusive recognition, offered only when a clearly deserving individual is found.

The award was presented on Monday, March 30, 2026 at Ross Glen Hall, Mount Royal University, Calgary, during the Research & Scholarship Days recognition lunch. RASC Calgary Centre President Heather Laird and Fellow Robyn Foret, Chair of the Awards Committee, presented the award on behalf of the organization.

Have a question about the night sky? Dr. Jeans joins the RASC and University of Calgary each month on Ask an Astronomer with CTV News — email YourMorningCalgary@ctv.ca or text 10400. Learn more about the RASC Calgary Centre at calgary.rasc.ca.