Prestigious Sloan Fellowship awarded to ŗ«¹śĀćĪč astrophysicist
ŗ«¹śĀćĪč Astrophysicist Matt Dobbs has been awarded a
prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship. Dobbs, a Canada Research
Chair in Astro-particle Physics, investigates a big subject: the
origins and evolution of the universe.
Dobbs does this by studying cosmic microwave background (CMB)
radiation to shed light on the fundamental structures governing the
universe. He joins an illustrious group ā 38 Sloan Research Fellows
have gone on to win Nobel Prizes. The Fellowships are awarded to
āearly-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promiseā in
recognition of the fact that financial assistance at this point in
a researcherās career is often crucial to his or her future
scientific success.
Of the total $5.9 million U.S. awarded annually, Dobbs will receive
$50,000 over two years. Dobbs explains his research as being about
āfundamental cosmology and good old-fashioned adventureā¦ weāre
building instruments to image the earliest moments of the
universeās evolution, and then taking them to the very corners of
the globe and beyond ā the geographic South Pole, Chileās Atacama
plateau at 5100m altitude, and the top of the atmosphere aboard a
NASA stratospheric balloon.ā
Dobbs believes CMB radiation may reveal clues about the beginnings
of the universe, symmetries within its structures, and eventually
the Grand Unified Theory through which physicists seek to explain
fundamental interactions. Congratulating Dobbs for his achievement,
ŗ«¹śĀćĪčās Dean of Science Martin Grant is āproud to be in a Faculty
with scientists of Matt's quality.ā Dobbs in turn believes that
āsuccess is not just about scientific excellence, but also about
getting things done in extreme environments ā Iāll be relying on
the abilities of our exceptional team of students, post-docs, and
collaborators as much as my own.ā
The Fellowship is awarded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a
philanthropic, not-for-profit institution based in New York City
that makes grants to support original research and broad-based
education related to science, technology, and economic
performance.