Schmidt Science Fellows has appointed Dr. Renée Hložek to its Academic Council, where she will support the growing Fellowship community by providing tailored and focused mentoring to active Fellows.
Dr. Hložek takes up her part-time role with immediate effect. Her appointment grows the Academic Council to five full Members and an Associate Member, each bringing a different perspective and range of expertise to support Fellows.
The growth of the Academic Council allows Schmidt Science Fellows to meet the mentoring needs of its Fellowship community, which includes the 28 Fellows recently announced in the 2021 cohort.
Dr. Hložek is currently Assistant Professor of Astrophysics at the Dunlap Institute and the David. A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto. Her research interests focus on understanding what the Universe is made of, its structure, and how it is changing over time. She combines theoretical cosmology with observational data from Atacama Cosmology Telescope, the Simons Observatory, currently under construction in Northern Chile and will be integrating data from the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory.
Prof Sir Keith Burnett, Chair of the Academic Council, said: “I am delighted to welcome Dr. Renée Hložek to our Academic Council and to the team of mentors that supports our Fellows. As each Fellow embarks on an interdisciplinary pivot and progresses their science, they encounter a whole range of challenges and uncertainties. Dr. Hložek’s scientific background, professional expertise, and extensive mentoring experience adds to the diverse strengths of the Council and ensures we can give every Fellow the tailored support they need.”
Throughout my career, mentoring has played an important and central role, both as a mentor and mentee. I have been fortunate to have experienced and worked in diverse research environments in different countries and continents. – Dr. Hložek
Dr. Hložek studied mathematics at the Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town in South Africa before pursuing her PhD in astrophysics as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. She moved to Princeton University as a Lyman Spitzer Jr. Postdoctoral fellow ahead of moving to the University of Toronto. She is a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar. Dr. Hložek has a strong commitment to mentoring and public engagement. She is a Senior TED Fellow, and one of her TED talks, titled “The death of the Universe”, has recorded more than one million views.
Dr. Hložek said: “Throughout my career, mentoring has played an important and central role, both as a mentor and mentee. I have been fortunate to have experienced and worked in diverse research environments in different countries and continents. I am thrilled to join the Schmidt Science Fellows Academic Council and to have this opportunity to mentor the outstanding, diverse, and international Schmidt Science Fellows.”
Members of the Academic Council are responsible for mentoring groups of Schmidt Science Fellows each year on career and personal development topics and providing advice to the whole Fellowship community in their specific areas of expertise. Council Members are part-time, providing their expertise alongside continuing their principal roles.
