Our Academic Council member Professor Renée Hložek has been awarded the prestigious Rutherford Memorial Medal in Physics by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC).
The Rutherford Memorial Medals are awarded annually for outstanding research during the formative stage of a career in any branch of physics and chemistry.
Professor Hložek is Associate Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Toronto. Her research combines theoretical cosmology with observational data to help us understand what the Universe is made of, its structure, and how it is changing over time.
She said she was thrilled to receive the award: “It’s a lovely recognition of the work I do, which is to use a mix of theory and observation to answer fundamental questions about what the cosmos is made of and what makes it tick.
“I still pinch myself that I get to do the work that I do, and this is the icing on the cake.”
In awarding the Rutherford Medal, the RSC said: “Renée Hložek is one of the world’s leading young cosmologists. Her experimental and theoretical analyses of the cosmic microwave background and the distribution of matter and galaxies in the Universe on large scales illuminate the nature of dark matter and dark energy.
“She also applies her statistical tools and methods across disciplines to answer questions in neuroscience and biology.”
The Rutherford Medals were established by the RSC in 1980 in memory of Lord Rutherford of Nelson, a scientist and a leader in nuclear research.
Professor Hložek is a member of the Schmidt Science Fellows Academic Council and brings a breadth of expertise to our Fellowship community and our bespoke mentoring program.
