News - Trottier Space Institute at McGill

$26M donation to propel space research at McGill and U de M

Nov 21, 2022, Montreal Gazette

A $26-million donation to the McGill Space Institute and the Université de Montréal’s Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx) will allow both institutions to “continue their groundbreaking research into extrasolar planets, fast radio bursts, the dark universe, and other extraterrestrial mysteries,” the universities announced on Monday.

To infinity and beyond: $26 million to propel space research at McGill University and Université de Montréal to the outer limits

Nov 21, 2022, McGill Newsroom

The McGill Space Institute will receive $16 million, of which half will go towards the construction of an annex to the Institute’s current building on University Street. The other portion of the gift will be used to fund graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, as well as to expand on existing programmatic and research support. The ground-breaking work by the Space Institute’s researchers includes major discoveries in the area of neutron stars and fast radio bursts by Professor of Physics and Director of the Institute Victoria Kaspi, an award-winning astrophysicist who holds the Lorne Trottier Chair in Astrophysics and Cosmology at McGill. In recognition of this historic gift, the McGill Space Institute will be renamed the Trottier Space Institute at McGill.

IUGG Early Career Scientist Awardees 2023

Nov 7, 2022, IUGG Press Room

MSI Professor Natalya Gomez among the winners of the 2023 International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) Early Career Scientist Award for her seminal contributions to our understanding of the connections between the cryosphere and sea level change, at the border of geophysical and climate sciences.

Canadian team wins prestigious award for work unravelling some of the mysteries of our universe

Oct 25, 2022, CBC News

The CHIME team, which includes many MSI members, has won the 2022 Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering from NSERC. The Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering recognizes outstanding Canadian teams of researchers from different disciplines who came together to engage in research drawing on their combined knowledge and skills, and produced a record of excellent achievements in the natural sciences and engineering.

2022 Award Recipients

Oct 21, 2022, McGill Association of Postdoctoral Researchers

MSI Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Kristen Dage has won the 2022 Mentorship Award from the McGill Association of Postdoctoral Fellows. Dr. Dage has supervised many trainees, including at least nine undergraduate and one graduate student since 2018. Her mentees attest that she is an outstanding and thoughtful mentor, who has designed and supervised numerous trainee projects. An exemplary aspect of her mentoring approach is that she helps students develop explicit road-maps for projects, so that they have specific deliverables and milestones in mind when performing their work.

Call For Applications: MSI Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022

Oct 5, 2022, MSI

We are currently accepting applications for MSI Postdoctoral Fellowships. See job posting for full details. Deadline: 01-Dec-2022.

Claudia Mitchell, Victoria Kaspi honoured by the World Cultural Council

Sep 20, 2022, McGill Reporter

MSI Director Vicky Kaspi is the 2022 winner of the “Albert Einstein” World Award of Science, from the World Cultural Council. The prize is awarded in recognition of her fundamental contributions to our understanding of the most extreme form of stars known in our universe the “magnetars”, neutron stars having the highest magnetic fields known in the Universe.

Three McGill professors receive Royal Society of Canada medals

Sep 13, 2022, McGill Reporter

MSI Professor Daryl Haggard was awarded the Rutherford Memorial Medal in Physics for her pioneering studies of neutron stars and black holes. She has played a leading role in two recent, ground-breaking discoveries that have captivated scientists and the public in Canada and around the world: the first direct image of a supermassive black hole with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), and the first detection of electromagnetic radiation from a neutron star merger detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave and Virgo Observatories (LIGO-Virgo). Professor Haggard has also worked extensively to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in the physics, astronomy, and astrophysics communities. She has served on national committees for equity in STEM both in Canada and the US, including the American Astronomical Society’s Women in Astronomy Committee and the Canadian Astronomical Society’s Equity and Inclusivity Committee.

Fifteen McGill researchers and scholars honoured by the Royal Society of Canada

Sep 6, 2022, McGill Newsroom

MSI professor Nicolas Cowan was inducted to the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars. RSC Fellows and Members are peer-elected and meet the criteria of having made, “remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities, the sciences, and Canadian public life.” Fellowship in the RSC is one of the highest honours in the Arts, Social Sciences and Sciences. The Members of the College are Canadians who, at an early stage in their career, have demonstrated a high level of achievement.

McGill’s EDI champions feted in style – and in person

May 19, 2022, McGill Reporter

MSI Coordinator Carolina Cruz-Vinaccia was awarded the 2022 McGill Award for Equity & Community Building (Staff Category), which recognizes the work of students, faculty and staff committed to advancing equity and diversity at McGill. Carolina was recognized for her work creating spaces for discussion in the MSI and Physics Department, setting the groundwork to create a more inclusive department; assessing and addressing areas of under representation at the MSI; and fostering a sense of community. This award recognizes