2024 Medal Winners | francais

PRESS RELEASE / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The 2024 CAP Herzberg Medal

is awarded to

Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo

"Receiving the Herzberg Medal is a profound honor, highlighting my excitement for studying black holes and the universe's secrets. This achievement is a tribute to my team's hard work and the unwavering support of my family and mentors, including those who nominated and recommended me, enabling this milestone in my career." winner citation

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2024 CAP Herzberg Medal is awarded to Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo, Université de Montréal, in recognition of her leadership role in the study of super-massive black-holes in galactic clusters, and the innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the analysis of massive quantities of astrophysical data.. announcement

Dr. Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo is an internationally renowned expert in the study of the most massive black holes in the Universe. She is currently an associate professor in the Department of Physics at the Université de Montréal and holds a Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics of Black Holes. The goal of Dr. Hlavacek-Larrondo’s work is to study the most massive and powerful black holes in the Universe, with a particular focus on understanding how these objects shape the properties of galaxies through cosmic time. This is a key stepping stone for our understanding of how galaxies form and evolve over time. After completing her bachelor's and master's degrees at the Université de Montréal, Dr. Hlavacek-Larrondo obtained a Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge in England, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University in the US as a NASA Einstein Fellow.

In addition to receiving a host of research awards and grants over the years, Dr. Hlavacek-Larrondo has often been awarded time on the world's largest telescopes including the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra, JVLA, etc. She has published more than 80 papers in the best journals in the field and has received over 70 invitations to present her research at conferences and departments across the world. She is also a strong advocate for diversity and co-founded the organization Parité sciences, an ambitious campaign that aims to reach parity in physics, computer sciences and mathematics across the entire province of Quebec (www.paritesciences.com). nominator citation

ABOUT the Medal

The CAP Herzberg medal recognizes significant achievement in any field of research by an early-career Canadian physicist (i.e. successfully defended their doctoral thesis within the 12 years prior to the award). The annual CAP Herzberg Medal was introduced in 1970. Prior to 2011, the medal was awarded for outstanding achievement by a Canadian physicist under the age of 40. medal description

ABOUT the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP)

The Canadian Association of Physicists, founded in 1945, is a professional association representing over 1600 individual physicists and physics students in Canada, the U.S. and overseas, as well as a number of Corporate, Institutional, and Departmental Members. In addition to its learned activities, the CAP, through its charitable arm - the CAP Foundation, also undertakes a number of activities intended to encourage students to pursue a career in physics. cap description

joint description

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For more information, please contact:

Mrs. Francine Ford, Executive Director
Canadian Association of Physicists
Tel: 343-361-3326
E-mail: execdir@cap.ca
www.cap.cacap contact and joint contact