Nicolas Cowan receives the Arthur B. McDonald 2023 Fellowship

Nicolas Cowan, a member of the Centre for Research in Astrophysics of Québec, has been awarded the Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship 2023. Nicolas has been a professor at McGill since 2015. His specialty is the study of the atmospheres of exoplanets, those planets located beyond the solar system. His interests range from data analysis and theoretical modeling to the design of new missions.

Nicolas Cowan (Credit: Alex Tran, McGill University)

Nicolas will use the impressive capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope to further our understanding of planetary atmospheres. He is also leading the Canadian contribution to the European Space Agency’s Ariel mission, dedicated to studying the atmospheres of a large number of exoplanets. Finally, Cowan is actively involved in an international consortium dedicated to the development of a new high-resolution infrared spectrograph for the European Giant Telescope, currently under construction. This project aims to find clues related to the presence of life in the atmosphere of an exoplanet.

The prestigious Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships are awarded each year to early-career university researchers in the natural sciences and engineering.

Congratulations Nicolas!