Louise Olivia Violet Edwards[2] (born 21 November 1978[1]) is a Canadian astronomer and associate professor of physics at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly),[3] and is one of the first Black Canadians to receive a PhD in astronomy. In 2002, she was pictured on a Canadian stamp.[4]

Louise Edwards
Born (1978-11-21) November 21, 1978 (age 46)
CitizenshipCanada, Trinidad and Tobago[1]
Alma materUniversité Laval
Scientific career
FieldsAstrophysics, Astronomy
InstitutionsCalifornia Polytechnic State University

Early life, education and research

edit

Louise Edwards grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She completed her undergraduate degree in physics and astronomy, with a minor in mathematics, at the University of Victoria. She received a master's degree from St Mary's University in 2003,[1] and a PhD from Université Laval in 2007.[5][6] She studies galaxy formation and evolution using optical and infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photometric data, and radio wavelength observations, focusing on Brightest Cluster Galaxies,[7][8] galaxies in cluster cores, and galaxies in filaments.

Career

edit

Following her doctoral studies, Edwards was a postdoctoral research scientist at Caltech/IPAC and Trent University, and then an assistant professor at Mount Allison University. From 2012 to 2016, Edwards was a lecturer and research scientist in the astronomy department at Yale University, before starting her faculty position at Cal Poly in 2016. During her time at Yale, she was the chair of the Dorrit Hoffleit Undergraduate Research Fellowship program for undergraduate research in Astronomy.[9][10]

In the media

edit
  • CBC program celebrating Black History Month[11]
  • The Deep Sky: From Near to Far. Essays in the 2013–2020 editions of the RASC Observer's Handbook
  • Astronomy at Yale[12] (Yale Astronomy Department Documentary)
  • This black hole has an appetite for cold, cosmic rain[13]
  • Astronomy in Color (interview)
  • Research note: An illuminating look at large galaxies and their closest companions[14]
  • Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium at Yale
  • Blog Downtown LA[full citation needed]
  • Boomerang-shaped galaxy sighted [15]
  • Astronomers Probe "Sandbar" Between Islands of Galaxies[16]
  • International School for Young Astronomers
  • Canadian Astronomical Society Newsletter I

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Edwards, Louise (2003). Molecular hydrogen in the cooling flow cluster Abell 1795 (Thesis). ProQuest 305252781.
  2. ^ "International Astronomical Union | IAU". www.iau.org. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "Louise Edwards". Physics Department. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  4. ^ "Dr. L.O.V. Edwards". www.astro.yale.edu. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  5. ^ Astroboy-moreno (April 4, 2016). "Astronomy in Color: Faculty Highlight: Dr. Louise Edwards". Astronomy in Color. Retrieved August 22, 2020.[self-published source?]
  6. ^ Edwards, Louise O. V. (2007). Line emission in Brightest Cluster Galaxies : the nature of recent activity (Thesis). hdl:20.500.11794/19437.
  7. ^ Edwards, L. O. V.; Alpert, H. S.; Trierweiler, I. L.; Abraham, T.; Beizer, V. G. (September 1, 2016). "Stellar populations of BCGs, close companions and intracluster light in Abell 85, Abell 2457 and IIZw108". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 461 (1): 230–239. arXiv:1606.00967. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw1314.
  8. ^ Edwards, Louise O V; Salinas, Matthew; Stanley, Steffanie; Holguin West, Priscilla E; Trierweiler, Isabella; Alpert, Hannah; Coelho, Paula; Koppaka, Saisneha; Tremblay, Grant R; Martel, Hugo; Li, Yuan (January 11, 2020). "Clocking the formation of today's largest galaxies: wide field integral spectroscopy of brightest cluster galaxies and their surroundings". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 491 (2): 2617–2638. arXiv:1909.10434. doi:10.1093/mnras/stz2706.
  9. ^ "Dr. Louise O.V. Edwards". www.astro.yale.edu. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  10. ^ "Dorrit Hoffleit Undergraduate Research Scholarship | Department of Astronomy". astronomy.yale.edu. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "Louise Edwards - University of Victoria". UVic.ca. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  12. ^ Video on YouTube
  13. ^ "This black hole has an appetite for cold, cosmic rain". Yale University. June 8, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  14. ^ "An illuminating look at large galaxies and their closest companions". Yale University. June 23, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  15. ^ "Boomerang-shaped galaxy sighted". CBC News. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  16. ^ "Astronomers Probe 'Sandbar' Between Islands of Galaxies". NASA. Retrieved February 28, 2022.