Astronomy student wins inaugural Professor Mercedes T. Richards award

University of Toronto undergraduate student Madeline Nardin is the winner of the inaugural 2022 Professor Mercedes T. Richards Award for excellence in summer undergraduate research in astronomy.

Named after renowned astronomer and U of T alum (PhD 1986) Professor Mercedes T. Richards, the award was created to recognize a student in the U of T Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) in astronomy & astrophysics who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and growth in scientific research.

Nardin, a member of New College, is a fourth-year undergraduate student specializing in astronomy and physics. During SURP, she worked with Keith Vanderlinde, a professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science's Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, developing technologies to observe the origin and evolution of the universe and short-lived astronomical phenomena, such as fast radio bursts.

“I am tremendously honoured to receive the Mercedes T. Richards Award,” Nardin says. “It’s awesome to be recognized for the work I’ve done in SURP — that work continues to motivate me in my research.”

The award honours the memory of Professor Mercedes T. Richards and her contributions to the fields of physics and astronomy, both through her ground-breaking astronomy research, as well as her advocacy of young people within science, including women and other underrepresented groups. Richards, who passed away in 2016, went on to a distinguished career after graduating from U of T. With research spanning computational astrophysics, stellar astrophysics, and exoplanets/brown dwarfs, she was a professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University at the time of her death.

“My family and I are grateful this award has been established to honour the memory of Mercedes,” says Professor Donald Richards, husband of the late Mercedes T. Richards.

“We know that Mercedes would have been very pleased to see her name associated with an award for summer research by undergraduate students, for undergraduate education was of the utmost importance to her.”

The award includes a $2000 prize. Nominations can be made during the SURP program, which runs from May to August every year and is administered by the David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

The Professor Mercedes T. Richards Award for Excellence is awarded to a student who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and growth in astronomy research, and honours the memory of Professor Mercedes T. Richards (1955-2016) and her tireless efforts to advance the fields of physics and astronomy. Richards performed groundbreaking research across many areas, and advocated for young people within science, including women and other underrepresented groups. Learn more about the award.

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