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Richard Huziak | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1957-03-18)March 18, 1957 (age 68) Yorkton,Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Occupation | amateur astronomer,manufacturing engineering technologist,environmentalist |
| Alma mater | University of Saskatchewan |
Richard Huziak (born March 18, 1957) is aCanadianamateur astronomer. TheInternational Astronomical Union named main-belt asteroid4143 Huziak after him. A former president of theRoyal Astronomical Society of Canada Saskatoon Centre for six years and a prominent member of theAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers, Huziak has over 181,000 observations ofvariable stars to his credit. He received the Chant Medal from theRoyal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2001,[1] the Service Medal from the same organization in 2009,[2] andJanet Mattei presented Huziak with the AAVSO's Director's Award in 2003.[3]
Born inYorkton,Saskatchewan, Huziak attended elementary and high school in Yorkton, but moved toSaskatoon in 1976 to attend theUniversity of Saskatchewan. He has resided in Saskatoon since, working as amanufacturing engineering technologist for Develcon Electronics, Joytec,International Road Dynamics andSED Systems.
Huziak is an environmentalist addressinglight pollution concerns in Saskatchewan.[4] His work here prompted the Saskatchewan Eco-Network (SEN) to name Huziak a Saskatchewan Environmental Champion.[5] That organization awarded him theEnvironmental Activist Individual Award in 2007. He was instrumental[vague] in the designation of theCypress Hills Dark Sky Preserve in September 2004, then Canada's largestdark-sky preserve. His work withParks Canada led to the designation ofGrasslands National Park as a dark-sky preserve in October 2009, overtaking Cypress Hills as Canada's then-largest dark-sky preserve. Huziak continues to advise[vague] various levels of government and organizations on light pollution abatement to reduce light trespass, energy waste, andenvironmental degradation.[6] In August 2021, Huziak was nominated by theCanadian Space Agency as Canada's amateur astronomer representative to theInternational Astronomical Union and was accepted as an Honorary Member.[7]
Huziak was present during the discovery of 185P/Comet Petriew in August 2001,[8] namesake ofVance Petriew of the Regina Centre, RASC, and was the first to the recognize the object discovered as a comet.[9]