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Gravity & the Extreme Universe

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What is extreme gravity, and how can it help us understand the origin of the universe?

For most of human history, our only information about the Universe came from visible light. Later we learned to detect other forms of electromagnetic radiation like infrared and radio waves. Now we can detect gravitational waves, opening the door to new ways of observing and understanding the Universe. Astronomers, cosmologists, physicists, and computer scientists in the Gravity & the Extreme Universe program ask questions about the nature of extreme gravity, the origin and evolution of the universe, and the structure of compact objects such as black holes and neutron stars, as well as profound questions about fundamental physics and astrophysics.

RESEARCH AND SOCIETAL IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS

Leading the development of outrigger telescopes

CIFAR Fellows Matt Dobbs (McGill University), Mark Halpern (University of British Columbia), Gary Hinshaw (University of British Columbia), Co-Director Vicky Kaspi (McGill University), as well as CIFAR Fellows Ue-Li Pen (University of Toronto) and Ingrid Stairs (University of British Columbia) led the development of the new CHIME/FRB Outrigger Telescopes in the Okanagan Valley. The telescopes can obtain unprecedented precision sky localizations for hundreds of Fast Radio Bursts — mysterious, intense but short flashes of radio waves from outer space. A Catalyst Fund project further helped researchers work toward construction and develop algorithms for telescope calibration using Galactic radio pulsars, which will ultimately help to uncover even more mysteries of the cosmos.

Understanding how astronomy and machine learning can help detect neurodegeneration

By combining detection algorithms and citizen science techniques used to detect and classify faint stars and galaxies in astronomy with multi-scale optical brain imaging, CIFAR Canada AI Chairs Audrey Durand (Université Laval, Mila) and Christian Gagné (Université Laval, Mila), CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar Renée Hložek (University of Toronto), and their Co-Investigators Flavie Lavoie-Cardinal (Université Laval) and Chris Lintott (University of Oxford), are pioneering early detection techniques in neurodegeneration. This group successfully leveraged insights from their CIFAR collaboration and Catalyst Fund application to propel a successful New Frontiers in Research Fund grant, and is developing the work into additional proposals to the Discovery Horizons grant program and the Schmidt Foundation.
PATH TO SOCIETAL IMPACT

We invite experts in industry, civil society, healthcare and government to join fellows in our Gravity & the Extreme Universe program for in-depth, cross-sectoral conversations that drive change and innovation.

Academic and industrial experts in biomedical data analysis and artificial intelligence and CIFAR fellows in the Gravity & the Extreme Universe program are bringing about new technological innovations by using data science techniques from astronomy and cosmology to address complex challenges in genomics and medical imaging, and vice versa.

Areas of focus:

  • Finding opportunities for advanced image analysis to be deployed across disciplines
  • Identifying key areas, such as image classification or data processing, where researchers and industry can collaborate.

Founded

1986

Renewal Dates

1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2023

Supporters

R. Howard Webster Foundation

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Astrophysics
Astronomy
Astroparticle, computational, high energy and particle physics
Observational cosmology

CIFAR Contact

Lauren Goldstein

Fellows & Advisors

Program Director

Victoria M. Kaspi

Victoria M. Kaspi

Program Director
R. Howard Webster Foundation Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
McGill University
Canada
Luis Lehner

Luis Lehner

Program Co-Director

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Perimeter Institute
Canada

Fellows

J. Richard Bond

J. Richard Bond

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of Toronto
Canada
Mark C. Chen

Mark C. Chen

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Queen's University
Canada
Matt Dobbs

Matt Dobbs

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
McGill University
Canada
Mark Halpern

Mark Halpern

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of British Columbia
Canada
Gary Hinshaw

Gary Hinshaw

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of British Columbia
Canada
Gilbert Holder

Gilbert Holder

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
United States
Vicky Kalogera

Vicky Kalogera

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Northwestern University
United States
Victoria M. Kaspi

Victoria M. Kaspi

Program Director
R. Howard Webster Foundation Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
McGill University
Canada
Juna A. Kollmeier

Juna A. Kollmeier

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Carnegie Observatories
CITA
University of Toronto
United States
Arthur B. McDonald

Arthur B. McDonald

Associate Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Queen's University
Canada
Julio F. Navarro

Julio F. Navarro

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of Victoria
Canada
Barth Netterfield

Barth Netterfield

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of Toronto
Canada
Ue-Li Pen

Ue-Li Pen

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of Toronto
Canada
Harald P. Pfeiffer

Harald P. Pfeiffer

Associate Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of Toronto
Canada
Frans Pretorius

Frans Pretorius

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Princeton University
United States
Scott Ransom

Scott Ransom

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
United States
Kendrick Smith

Kendrick Smith

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Canada
Ingrid Stairs

Ingrid Stairs

Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of British Columbia
Canada
Neil Turok

Neil Turok

Associate Fellow

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Canada

Advisors

Roger Blandford

Roger Blandford

Advisor

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Stanford University
United States
Gabriela González

Gabriela González

Advisor

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Louisiana State University
United States
Lyman Page

Lyman Page

Advisor

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Princeton University
United States
Eva Silverstein

Eva Silverstein

Advisor

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Stanford University
United States
Scott D. Tremaine

Scott D. Tremaine

Advisory Committee Chair

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Institute for Advanced Study
United States
Simon White

Simon White

Advisor

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
Germany

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars

Yacine Ali-Haïmoud

Yacine Ali-Haïmoud

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2022-2024

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
New York University
United States
Iair Arcavi

Iair Arcavi

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Tel Aviv University
Israel
Carlos Argüelles-Delgado

Carlos Argüelles-Delgado

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2024-2026

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Harvard University
United States
Sarah Burke-Spolaor

Sarah Burke-Spolaor

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2018-2020

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
West Virginia University
United States
Maria R. Drout

Maria R. Drout

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2018-2020

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of Toronto
Canada
Daryl Haggard

Daryl Haggard

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2017-2019

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
McGill University
Canada
Renée Hložek

Renée Hložek

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of Toronto
Canada
Adrian Liu

Adrian Liu

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2018-2020

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
McGill University
Canada
Katherine Mack

Katherine Mack

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2022-2024

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
North Carolina State University
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Canada
Raffaella Margutti

Raffaella Margutti

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
University of California Berkeley
United States
Ajith Parameswaran

Ajith Parameswaran

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2017-2019

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
India
Katelin Schutz

Katelin Schutz

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2024-2026

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
McGill University
Canada
Shriharsh Tendulkar

Shriharsh Tendulkar

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2022-2024

Gravity & the Extreme Universe
National Centre for Radio Astrophysics
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
India

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