Stargazer Wins Prix du Québec

Vicky Kaspi had to divert her gaze from the heavens long enough to shake some hands and collect some more hardware. McGill’s Lorne Trottier Chair in Astrophysics and Cosmology and Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics was awarded a 2009 Prix du Québec, the highest honour conferred by the provincial government, in recognition of her contribution to the social and scientific advancement of Quebec. Kaspi received the Prix Marie-Victorin for natural sciences and engineering on November 3, 2009, at a ceremony at the National Assembly in Quebec City.

“While Professor Kaspi’s meteoric talent and groundbreaking contributions to the world of astrophysics have made waves nationally and internationally, being lauded at home, in Quebec, makes us all very proud,” says Denis Thérien, Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations).

Kaspi is a world-renowned physicist known for her cutting-edge work on neutron stars, pulsars and supernovae remnants. In 2005, Kaspi and her team discovered the fastest-rotating pulsar known to science and more than 20 pulsars in a single star cluster in the Milky Way. Most recently, her team was the first to witness a cosmic act of recycling involving a dying pulsar.