As the world’s leading exoplanet researcher, we are recognized by NSERC for our visionary science and commitment to public advocacy and equity work.
McGill University today announced that Professor Nicholas Cowan has been awarded the 2023 Arthur B. Macdonald Fellowship from NSERC. These prestigious fellowships are awarded annually to early-stage academic researchers in the natural sciences and engineering.
These awards, worth $250,000 over two years, were previously EWR Steacy Memorial Fellowship Fourteen have been awarded so far to McGill researchers, including Elena Bennett, Vicky Caspi and Joel Pineau.
Professor Cowan, who holds joint appointments in the Departments of Physics and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has been a professor at McGill University since 2015. During this time, he has promoted his research through the McGill Exoplanet Characterization Alliance, which works on the full spectrum of exoplanet atmosphere investigations. , from mission design to equipment detrending, data analysis, and theoretical modeling.
Professor Cowan will use the extraordinary capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope to expand our understanding of planetary atmospheres. He is also leading Canada’s contribution to the European Space Agency’s Ariel mission to study the atmospheres of 1,000 exoplanets. Finally, Cowan is part of an international consortium developing a new high-resolution infrared spectrometer for the European Very Large Telescope. This project aims to explore traces of life on these distant worlds.
“Mr. McGill congratulates Professor Cowan on this significant honor and thanks NSERC for its support of his innovative research,” said Martha Crago, vice provost for research and innovation. “In pursuing new knowledge about exoplanets and Earth’s climate, he helped position McGill University as Canada’s leading institution in these fields of research, impacting the lives of students and budding researchers. I have given.”
planet hunter
An exoplanet is a planet that does not exist in our solar system. As the “holy grail” of exoplanets – planets capable of supporting life – remains undiscovered, locating and characterizing these objects is an increasingly important topic.
Professor Cowan’s research focuses on astrophysics, particularly the study of exoplanets, including mapping exoplanet atmospheres, understanding exoplanet energy budgets, comparative exoplanetology, and viewing the Earth itself as an exoplanet. It has an impact on many fields.
With the help of undergraduate students at McGill University, Cowan has developed a “climate app” that allows high school students to use their smartphones to learn about the greenhouse effect, global warming, and the habitability of the planet. This bilingual app is now being implemented in classrooms across Canada.
His work on equity issues has also been influential. In 2019, he co-founded the Indigenous Community Astronomy Program. This program aims to support Kanien’kehaka primary school students through hands-on astronomy activities with indigenous professional astronomers.
“It is a great honor to be a McDonald Fellow,” Professor Cowan said. “The additional time and funding provided by the fellowship will allow us to further our efforts to investigate exoplanet atmospheres while continuing our efforts to design and build the next generation of telescopes to study these strange worlds. can.”
