Victoria Kaspi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vicky Kaspi
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Victoria Michelle Kaspi
June 30, 1967 |
| Alma mater | McGill University (BS) Princeton University (PhD) |
| Known for | Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment |
| Spouse(s) | David Langleben |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Pulsars Neutron stars Astrophysics |
| Institutions | McGill University California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | Applications of pulsar timing (1993) |
| Doctoral advisor | Joseph Taylor |
| Doctoral students | Anne Archibald |
Victoria Michelle Kaspi (born June 30, 1967) is a Canadian astrophysicist. She is a professor at McGill University. Her main research focuses on neutron stars and pulsars. These are super dense objects in space.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Kaspi was born in Austin, Texas, USA. When she was seven, her family moved to Canada. She studied at McGill University for her first degree. She finished there in 1989.
After that, she went to Princeton University for her advanced studies. She earned her PhD in 1993. Her supervisor was Joseph Taylor. He was a Nobel Prize winner in astrophysics.
Career and Space Research
After finishing her studies, Kaspi worked at several famous places. These included the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1999, she became a professor at McGill University.
At McGill, she held important positions. She was one of the first to hold a Canada Research Chair. In 2006, she became the Lorne Trottier Professor of Astrophysics. She is also a Fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.
Studying Pulsars and Supernovae
Kaspi's work often involves looking at pulsars. Pulsars are a type of neutron star that spins very fast. They send out beams of radiation. She used the Chandra X-ray Observatory to study a pulsar. This pulsar was linked to a supernova remnant called G11.2–0.3. A supernova remnant is what's left after a huge star explodes.
Her observations showed that the pulsar was exactly in the middle of the supernova. This supernova was seen by the Chinese in 386 CE. This was only the second time a pulsar was found in a supernova remnant. The first was in the Crab Nebula. Her studies helped prove that pulsars and supernovae are connected. This work also made scientists rethink how they guess the age of pulsars.
Understanding Magnetars
Kaspi also did important research using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. She studied two types of space objects:
- Soft gamma repeaters: These send out sudden bursts of gamma rays.
- Anomalous X-ray pulsars: These are slow-spinning pulsars with very strong magnetic fields.
Her research showed that both of these could be explained as magnetars. Magnetars are neutron stars with extremely powerful magnetic fields.
Discovering Cosmic Wonders
Kaspi has helped discover many amazing things in space:
- The fastest spinning pulsar known, called PSR J1748-2446ad.
- Star clusters that have many pulsars packed together.
- Using the Green Bank Telescope, she helped find "cosmic recycling." This is when a slow-spinning pulsar speeds up to become a much faster millisecond pulsar.
Her work with the CHIME telescope also led to important discoveries about Fast Radio Bursts. These are very powerful, short bursts of radio waves from space.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Kaspi has received many awards for her amazing work. Some of the most notable include:
- 1998: Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy
- 2004: Herzberg Medal
- 2007: Rutherford Memorial Medal
- 2010: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists.
- 2010: Elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.
- 2015: Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Prize
- 2016: Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. She was the first woman to receive this top Canadian science prize.
- 2016: Made a Companion of the Order of Canada. This is Canada's second highest award for civilians.
- 2019: Recognized by Nature as one of Nature's 10 top scientists.
- 2021: Shaw Prize, a major international award.
Personal Life
Vicky Kaspi is Jewish. Her husband, David Langleben, is a heart doctor. He also works at McGill University in Montreal.
See also
In Spanish: Victoria Kaspi para niños
