Canadian University Press Releases/Newswire

Source: St. Mary's University
http://www.smu.ca/newsreleases/2006/10-18-18-2006.html

Scientist Awarded $180,000 Space Fellowship

October 18, 2006

The
Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced this morning that a Saint Mary’s
University professor has received a Fellowship in Space Science.

Dr. Marcin Sawicki, a professor astronomy and physics, has been awarded
$180,000.00 from the CSA which will allow him to carry out research that
explores the formation and evolution of galaxies at epochs when the universe
was only a fraction of its present age.

He is particularly interested in where and when the universe made its stars
and the complex chemical elements that we are all made of. In his work, Dr.
Sawicki uses space-based facilities, including the Hubble Space Telescope
and the Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as ground-based ones such as the
Keck Telescopes in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile.

His research program as Space Science Fellow will specifically look at how
the stellar populations of distant galaxies were assembled when the universe
was young. This requires peering through the interstellar dust that
surrounds regions of star formation in distant galaxies, so he will make use
of the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes.

The Saint Mary’s professor is already involved in Canada's contribution to
the James Webb Space Telescope and the development of the fine guidance
sensor/tuneable filter imager. So, his work over the next few years will
also include the development of plans and new observing techniques for this
exciting future facility.

He earned his BSc. at McMaster University in Hamilton, and his MSc. and PhD.
at the University of Toronto. He has also held a NSERC Post-Doctoral
Fellowship at Caltech, and was a Plaskett Fellow at the National Research
Council's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Victoria. Most recently, he
was a Research Physicist at University of California at Santa Barbara.

Saint Mary's University is known for its community outreach projects, both
in Canada and around the world. Saint Mary's, founded in 1802, is home to
one of Canada's leading business schools, a Science Faculty widely known for
its cutting-edge research, a comprehensive and innovative Arts Faculty and a
vibrant Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

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For More Information:

Paul Fitzgerald
Public Affairs Officer
Saint Mary's University, Public Affairs
(902) 420.5514
E-mail: paul.fitzgerald@smu.ca
www.smu.ca