Laurie Rousseau-Nepton

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Laurie Rousseau-Nepton
Born1985or1986(age 37–38) [1]
NationalityCanadian
Alma mater Université Laval
Scientific career
Fields Astrophysics
Institutions University of Toronto
Thesis Étude des régions de formation stellaire dans les galaxies spirales avec SpIOMM  (2017)
Academic advisors Carmelle Robert

Laurie Rousseau-Nepton is a Canadian astronomer at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, and was the first Indigenous woman in Canada to obtain a Ph.D. in astrophysics. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Rousseau-Nepton is an Innu woman whose family are from the Mashteuiatsh reserve in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. [5] [6] Her mother was a civil engineering technician and her father was a civil engineer. [6] She grew up near Quebec City, and lived for two years on the Wendake reserve. [7] Her interest in science was sparked as a child when she went on a hunting trip with her father to the Ashuapmushuan Wildlife Reserve in Quebec. During the day, she became attentive to details, observing small changes in the environment to be a better hunter. [8] At night, she was able to observe changes in the night sky such as shooting stars and the aurora borealis. [9]

During her studies in Cégep, she was attracted by physics because it was both challenging and offered freedom in methods of problem solving. [5]

Rousseau-Nepton completed her bachelor's, master's, and PhD degrees from Université Laval. [5] She received her Ph.D. in 2017, under the supervision of Carmelle Robert. [10] Her doctoral research involved studying the HII regions of nearby spiral galaxies, using the SpIOMM, an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer developed at University of Laval for the Mont-Mégantic Observatory. [10] [11]

Career

After completing her PhD, Rousseau-Nepton took up an appointment as an FRQNT  [ fr ] postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. [12] From 2017 to 2023, she was a resident astronomer at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope. [13] Rousseau-Nepton is the Principal Investigator for SIGNALS, a large survey program aiming at observing over 50,000 resolved star-forming regions in nearby galaxies. [14] In September 2023, she became an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. [15]

Rousseau-Nepton began researching Innu oral traditions about astronomy after she was asked speak about the perspective on eclipses among First Nations by a colleague. [8] [16] In interviews, she has drawn a connection between her work on star formation and the lifecycle of stars and the Innu tradition that people come from the stars, and will return to the sky after our time on Earth. [8]

In 2023, she was the subject of the film series North Star produced by the National Film Board of Canada. [17]

Honors and awards

Awards won include: [18]

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References

  1. ↑ "Une pionnière autochtone de l'astronomie | ICI.Radio-Canada.ca" (in French). 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2021. la jeune femme de 31 ans
  2. ↑ "LAURIE ROUSSEAU NEPTON – Women In Physics Canada 2018" . Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "Fonds Nature et technologies - An indigenous astrophysicist in Hawaii". www.frqnt.gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. ↑ Helfenbaum, Wendy (8 March 2022). "Among the stars: Meet the Canadian women making an impact in astronomy and physics". National Post. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 "Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, an Innu out to conquer the stars". Espace pour la vie Montréal. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 "L'astrophysicienne innue Laurie Rousseau-Nepton explore les mystères du cosmos". ici.radio-canada.ca (in French). Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  7. ↑ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Société- (6 September 2017). "Une pionnière autochtone de l'astronomie". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Hayward, Abi (23 August 2023). "'We come from the stars and return to the stars'". Canadian Geographic. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "North Star". Media Space. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  10. 1 2 Rousseau-Nepton, Laurie (2017). "Étude des régions de formation stellaire dans les galaxies spirales avec SpIOMM".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ↑ Bernier, A.-P.; Grandmont, F.; Rochon, J.-F.; Charlebois, M.; Drissen, L. (29 June 2006). McLean, Ian S; Iye, Masanori (eds.). "First results and current development of SpIOMM: an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer for astronomy". Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy. International Society for Optics and Photonics. 6269: 626949. Bibcode:2006SPIE.6269E..49B. doi:10.1117/12.671410. S2CID   119518729.
  12. ↑ "The Native American Sky". Universe of Learning. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "Fonds Nature et technologies - An indigenous astrophysicist in Hawaii". www.frqnt.gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  14. ↑ "Accueil". laurie-rousseau-nepton-03.webself.net. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  15. ↑ "Coming soon: Inspiring profile of new Dunlap Institute faculty member". Dunlap Institute. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  16. ↑ Universe, Discover the (30 May 2017). "Indigenous Perspectives on Solar Eclipses". Discover. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  17. ↑ "North Star". National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "Achievements". laurie-rousseau-nepton-03.webself.net. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
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