News - Trottier Space Institute at McGill

TSI Prof and AAS 243 Keynote speaker, Eve Lee speaks to AstroBites

Jan 8, 2024, AstroBites online post

Dr. Eve Lee, a distinguished astronomer at McGill University specializing in exoplanets, shared her captivating career journey, providing insights into her trajectory from an eager undergrad to a seasoned researcher.

Crossing the generational divide: what established scientists and early-career researchers can learn from each other

Dec 18, 2023, Nature

The Shaw Prize Foundation awarded Kaspi and astrophysicist Chryssa Kouveliotou at George Washington University in Washington DC the US$1.2-million 2021 Shaw Prize in Astronomy for their work on magnetars. Last month, Kaspi attended the inaugural Hong Kong Laureate Forum alongside early-career researchers and 22 other Shaw laureates. The forum is designed to nurture connections and discussions between researchers at different stages of their careers through panel discussions, talks and social events.

Nicolas Cowan wins Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship

Nov 1, 2023, NSERC

Prof. Nicolas Cowan was awarded the 2023 Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship from NSERC/CRSNG. His group has pioneered techniques to map the surfaces and atmospheres of exoplanets, led groundbreaking projects to determine how planets absorb and transport heat, and conducted the first studies comparing the climates of exoplanets. The Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship recognizes early-stage academic researchers in the natural sciences and engineering and supports them to enhance their research capacity, so that they can become leaders in their field and inspire others.

Call For Applications: MSI Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022

Oct 10, 2023, TSI

We are currently accepting applications for TSI Postdoctoral Fellowships. See job posting for full details. Deadline: 29-Dec-2023.

The Experimental Cosmologist Hunting for the First Sunrise

Sep 20, 2023, Quanta Magazine

To catch even a whiff of the universe’s earliest epochs — an age of darkness, and one of new light — Cynthia Chiang builds her own equipment. Then she deploys it at the ends of the Earth.

Natalya Gomez named recipient of 2023 AGU James B. Macelwane Medal

Sep 13, 2023, McGill Reporter

Professor Natalya Gomez of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences has been selected to receive the American Geophysical Union’s 2023 James B. Macelwane Medal, awarded annually to three to five early career scientists in recognition of their significant contributions to Earth and space science. AGU, the world’s largest Earth and space science association, annually recognizes a select number of individuals for its highest honors.

Nicolas Cowan joins Ariel space telescope mission

Aug 24, 2023, McGill Reporter

As announced earlier this summer, the Canadian Space Agency will contribute to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Ariel space telescope mission that will launch in 2029. Nicolas Cowan, Associate Professor in the departments of Physics and of Earth & Planetary Sciences at McGill, has been appointed co-Principal Investigator of the Ariel mission, and will join ESA’s Ariel Science Team.

Job Opening: TSI Computing Research Fellow

Feb 28, 2023, TSI

We invite applications for a postdoctoral Research Computer Technology Fellowship at the Trottier Space Institute at McGill (TSI). Full details: https://tsi.mcgill.ca/index.php?page=job-opening-research-computer-technology-fellow Apply on AcademicJobsOnline:https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/24346

McGill research featured in Québec Science top 10

Jan 13, 2023, McGill Reporter

TSI Prof. Lyle Whyte and his team (including grad students Elisse Magnuson and Catherine Maggiori) are among the researchers whose work has been highlighted Québec Science’s list of top 10 scientific discoveries of 2022. They demonstrated, for the first time, that microbial communities found living in Canada’s High Arctic in conditions analogous to those on Mars can survive by eating and breathing simple inorganic compounds of a kind that have been detected on Mars (such as methane, sulfide, sulfate, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide). The team used state-of-the-art genomic techniques to gain insight into the microbes’ remarkable metabolisms. The findings, published in The ISME Journal, were so compelling that samples of the Lost Hammer surface sediments have been selected by the European Space Agency to test the life-detecting capabilities of the instruments they plan to use on the next ExoMars Mission.

Charles Gale and Daryl Haggard honoured by the Canadian Association of Physicists

Dec 22, 2022, McGill Reporter

TSI Prof. Daryl Haggard was awarded the 2022 CAP Herzberg Medal from the Canadian Association of Physicists. The medal is awarded in recognition of her leadership role in the development of multimessenger astronomy, and the ground-breaking discovery of the electromagnetic signal accompanying gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars.