Four Distinguished Canadian Scientists Awarded Space Fellowships

Longueuil, Quebec, October 17, 2006 – The Canadian Space Agency is pleased to announce four Fellowships in Space Science. Fellows in the 2004 competition are Dr. Scott Chapman of the University of Victoria, and Dr. Konstantin Kabin of the University of Alberta. Fellows in the 2005 competition are Dr. Marcin Sawicki of St. Mary's University, and Dr. Colin Borys of the University of Toronto. Each is entitled to a research grant of up to $180,000 over three years.

The Fellowships in Space Science encourage promising scientists to conduct space research activities in a university, an industry or a government research institution in Canada, and are part of the Canadian Space Agency Grant Program to Support Awareness, Research, and Training in Space Science and Technology. The research conducted contributes to advancement in fields such as:

• space astronomy
• planetary exploration
• solar-terrestrial relations and space physics
• atmospheric sciences
• space physical sciences
• space life sciences

This high-profile fellowship initiative supports and enhances space science research in areas of priority to Canada. Candidates must have completed a doctorate in one of the fields listed above and demonstrate that they are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.

Research scientists interested in the 2006 Fellowships in Space Science must send applications and supporting documentation to the Canadian Space Agency by November 30, 2006.

For more information on Canadian Space Agency Fellowships in Space Science, please visit the Canadian Space Agency Web site at www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/sciences/scholarships-science.asp.

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For more information:

Carole Duval
Media Relations and Information Services
Canadian Space Agency
Telephone: (450) 926-4370
E-mail:

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CSA Space Fellows in Space Science

Dr. Scott Chapman (2004 Competition, Fellowship starting date: 1 June, 2006)

Scott Chapman's expertise is observational cosmology, and he has contributed to the understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies and the development of large-scale structures in the universe. In particular, Chapman is known for the development of a technique that locates the most luminous, dust-enshrouded galaxies at specific cosmic epochs. This technique makes the study of large samples of these "hidden" galaxies in the early universe possible. He also pioneered a spectroscopic method for determining precisely how far away these galaxies are, and has closely studied their astrophysical processes.

With the Fellowship, Chapman will be able to study observations of large samples of dusty galaxies, using the space observatories orbiting Earth (Hubble for optical data, Spitzer for infrared, Chandra for X-ray information) for mapping of the distribution of the galaxies in space and for detailed observations of many individual galaxies. These observations help with upcoming studies by the Herschel and James Webb space telescopes of the hidden phases of galaxy formation at the peak epoch of galaxy building, when the universe was only a fifth of its current age.

Scott Chapman earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of British Columbia (BSc., 1995), and has a PhD. in astrophysics (1999). He has been the Magellan Fellow at the Carnegie Institution's Observatories in Pasadena, California (1999 to 2001) and a senior postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology since 2001. He starts the Canadian Space Agency Fellowship in 2006, and has been appointed adjunct faculty at the University of Victoria.

Dr. Konstantin Kabin (2004 Competition, Fellowship starting date: 15 January 2006)

Born in Russia, Dr. Konstantin Kabin graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology with the equivalent of an MSc. in Aerospace Engineering in 1995. In 1994, he took part in the Russia-USA 1000/1000 student exchange program, which was initiated by Presidents Bush and Gorbachev at their 1989 Malta summit. Dr. Kabin earned a PhD. in Atmospheric and Space Science and Scientific Computing from the University of Michigan in 2000.

He then spent a year at the University of British Columbia as a Killam Postdoctoral Fellow, before joining the Canadian Space Agency-funded facility for data assimilation and modelling in the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta, where he now resides. Dr. Kabin became a Canadian citizen in 2004.

He has co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed papers in space physics on topics including the study of planetary magnetospheres, Earth's ionosphere, auroral processes, and low frequency plasma waves, as well as in numerical analysis and plasma physics. He is currently using a comprehensive set of computational and theoretical tools to support Canada's Geospace Monitoring Program, an ambitious project that combines computer modelling and remote sensing of the Earth's ionosphere to investigate the impact of solar magnetic storms on satellites in low-Earth orbit.

Dr. Colin Borys (2005 Competition, Fellowship starting date: 1 July 2006)

Colin's interest in space and astronomy started at a young age while growing up in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, where there was always a spectacular and unobscured view of the night sky. This childhood interest became a career path after obtaining a degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Saskatchewan in 1993 and working with Dr. Ted Llewellyn and the Institute for Atmospheric Studies.

Upon graduation, he worked at SED Systems in Saskatoon on the MOPITT satellite. After the project was completed, he returned to academia, earning a PhD (2002) supervised by Dr. Mark Halpern and Douglas Scott at the University of British Columbia. There he was involved in the design, construction, and flight of the Canadian Space Agency-sponsored BAM balloon-borne telescope.

During the BAM project, he developed a keen interest in ground-based sub-millimetre astronomy—detector technology and data reduction/acquisition methods were closely tied to the cosmic microwave background signals that BAM measured. This interest led to a postdoctoral position at the California Institute of Technology. He found this a rich experience because he was able to supplement ground-based observations with data obtained from space from the NASA-led Hubble and Spitzer missions. The commitment by Canada to the next generation of space and balloon-borne astronomy, particularly the BLAST, Spider, Herschel, and JWST missions drew him back to work as an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Marcin Sawicki (2005 Competition, Fellowship starting date: 1 January 2007)

Marcin Sawicki studies 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, Marcin 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.

Marcin obtained his BSc. at McMaster University in Hamilton, and his MSc. and PhD. at the University of Toronto. He then held an 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.

For the Canadian Space Agency Space Science Fellowship he will be at St. Mary's University in Halifax as Assistant Professor.

Marcin's research program as Space Science Fellow looks 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 Marcin will make use of the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. Marcin is already involved in Canada's contribution to the James Webb Space Telescope and the development of the fine guidance sensor/tuneable filter imager. Thus, his work over the next few years will also include the development of plans and new observing techniques for this exciting future facility. When not studying distant galaxies, Marcin hikes (slowly), sails (obsessively), and plays Japanese taiko drums (loudly).