This veteran member of the Centre is, shall we say, “handy” with tools. And he has, shall we say, “a bit of a workshop”. Last year, this member started with a 1970’s era, orange-tube Celestron 14” telescope that was in less than ideal condition. He stripped it down, cleaned the optics, replaced worn out mechanical parts with parts he machined himself, and repaired the old-style electronic “clock drive”. When he put it all back together again, he had restored and upgraded a classic telescope to mint-condition. At the September 2016 meeting, he presented his project to us and I was amazed at how thorough and excellent a job he had done. In an age where “replace” rather than “repair” is the order of the day, this member executed a telescope restoration project that is definitely “old school”.

For this project, which I believe is deserving of the classical ATM label for “Amateur Telescope Making”, I am happy to present the Angus Smith Award for Excellence in Telescope Making and Design to Roman Unyk.

This year several of the awards are going to people whose contribution may have been overlooked in previous year’s awards. This award is one of them. The recipient of this award has received this award in the past for a telescope he designed and constructed in the mid-90’s. The Awards Committee felt, however, that his contribution to this field greatly exceeds the construction of a single telescope. He has helped numerous members design, build, repair and restore telescopes over the years and his expertise in the field of optical design and manufacture has put exceptional mirrors in many of our member’s scopes.

Since so many member (including I suspect many other previous recipients of this award) have benefitted from his advice and may have one of his mirrors built into their telescopes it seems fitting to award this year’s Angus Smith Award For Excellence in Telescope Design and Construction to Barry Arnold.