Renée Hložek, an associate professor at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, has been named a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. The college is Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership.
“It’s really amazing to join the college,” says Hložek, whose previous accolades include her appointments as a senior TED Fellow and a 2020 Sloan Research Fellow, and the recipient of the Canadian Astronomical Society’s 2021 Harvey B. Richer Gold Medal for early career research in astronomy. “In addition to being a recognition of my scholarship, I am delighted as it will bring me into contact with other scholars and thinkers to engage and potentially collaborate with. It’s a real honour.”
A theoretical and observational cosmologist, Hložek’s work continues to accelerate our knowledge about the structure, origin and evolution of the universe. Using statistical methods and precise observations to answer cosmic questions, she makes measurements of both visible and microwave light with telescopes. She then uses these measurements to advance our understanding about the fundamental building blocks of nature.
Hložek is a member of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope collaboration and the Simons Observatory in northern Chile, where she studies the Cosmic Microwave Background — light from the universe when it was less than 400,000 years old. The answers she derives will unlock secrets about the period of star formation in the early universe.
Hložek is also investigating dark matter and dark energy, the two mysterious forces that govern and compose 95 per cent of our universe through her work as part of the Rubin Observatory’s LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration, where she serves as its Deputy Spokesperson. Briefly put, the former acts as a kind of “cosmic cement” that slows down the expansion of the universe, while the latter is thought to be an anti-gravitational force that contributes to its speeding up.
While their existence is not in question, the specific nature of these forces is as yet poorly understood. However, Hložek’s insights into a possible dark matter candidate — an as yet undetected particle called an axion — have led to major progress in this inquiry.
Hlozek’s accomplishments as a science communicator are also notable. Due to its relentless expansion, it is known that the universe will ultimately come to a frigid end. Hložek’s short animated Ted-Ed video on the subject, entitled The Death of the Universe, explains this process engagingly and has been viewed 1.1 million times.
Says Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science: “Thanks to Renée’s superb work, we come closer every day to understanding the past, present and future of our universe — from its earliest origins to its eventual end. A brilliant and clear communicator, she excels at conveying her passion for astrophysics to both emerging scientists and the community at large. It’s my pleasure to congratulate her on being named to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.”