A McGill University researcher who grew up watching the popular TV series The Big Bang Theory is now living out the show’s premise in real life, earning recognition for her breakthrough work to help uncover new information about the origin of the universe — and instead of peering through a telescope, she’s applying math to do it.
The innovative research has earned Hannah Fronenberg the Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation—International, awarded by Mitacs, a national innovation organization that fosters growth by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions. The award was presented at a ceremony at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on November 22.
Fronenberg — a PhD researcher working under the supervision of Professor Adrian Liu in the physics department at McGill, who recently completed a Mitacs-funded international internship at New York University — is being recognized for her work to push the frontiers of our knowledge of how stars, galaxies and planets were formed in the period directly following the big bang, by developing a new technique to look deeper into the universe than ever before and examine sound waves frozen in time. Her work is important because it lays the groundwork to test existing theories and beliefs while paving the way forward to use emerging cosmological data sets to make new discoveries as well.
“Early on, our universe was so hot and so dense it was like one big ‘soup’ of particles that were oscillating and propagating sound waves,” explained Fronenberg, whose research is affiliated with the Trottier Space Institute. “Eventually the plasma dissipated so galaxies and stars could form, but the sound waves actually became permanently embossed in the universe, like fossils.”
Fronenberg’s method is the first to measure those fossil sound waves by combining existing data about the cosmic microwave background (the leftover light following the big bang) with emerging line intensity mapping (LIM) data, a new observational technique that allows researchers to map the large-scale universe using light emanating from atoms and molecules. Using special combinations of cosmic microwave background maps and line intensity maps, it’s possible to see both the regular and the dark matter in the universe. Up until now, maps of the universe have relied on regular matter only, or in other words, the “bright stuff.”
“We actually don’t know exactly what happened after the big bang. We have ideas about how the first stars and galaxies formed and eventually hosted planets, but in terms of having a large-scale understanding about how we got here, we’re still in the dark,” said Fronenberg, explaining that because LIM is a new technique, science-quality data is not yet available but is expected in the near future.
Though she always leaned towards physics — obsessed with TV shows like The Big Bang Theory and YouTube videos about space as a teenager — it wasn’t until Fronenberg found herself tuning out of an undergraduate biology class to watch a livestream announcement about the first-ever detection of gravitational waves in space that she decided to focus on astrophysics.
“I decided to switch programs and I’m extremely glad that I did,” said Fronenberg. “My Mitacs internship was an incredible boost to my research. It allowed me to network with scientists from all over the world.”
“As a physicist, I mostly think about how we can build mathematical tools to understand the universe,” she said. “We’re very good at stitching together galaxies to get a big picture of the universe. Now, for the first time, able to use the smallest objects, atoms and molecules, to map the largest structures, and that’s exciting.”
The award was presented at a ceremony at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on November 22.
The Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation—International is presented to a Mitacs intern who has made a significant achievement in research and development innovation during their Mitacs-funded research. Mitacs is supported by funding from the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments across the country.
Fronenberg is one of nine award winners nationally, chosen from thousands of researchers who take part in Mitacs programs each year. The remaining eight recipients were recognized for outstanding innovation, commercialization or exceptional leadership in other areas of research.
In congratulating the winners, Mitacs CEO John Hepburn reflected on the organization”s 25-year history of providing Canadian innovators with opportunities for experiential skills development through strategic partnerships between industry, government and academia. “Mitacs is honoured to play a pivotal role in empowering industry leaders across Canada to foster game-changing ideas, and we couldn’t be more pleased to celebrate their significant achievements with these awards,” Hepburn said.
The delivery or Mitacs programs in Quebec is made possible thanks to the support of MEIE, FRQNT and FRQSC. For more information about the Mitacs awards and a full list of winners, visit www.mitacs.ca/newsroom
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