Lookback at our 2025 summer internships

Another summer full of discoveries has come to an end! As every year, we had the pleasure of welcoming a group of enthusiastic and curious undergraduate students from across Canada, who contributed to our research projects over several weeks. On August 21, they presented the results of their work during our Final Presentations Day, in front of the entire team gathered at the MIL campus, as well as several of our donors.

In the short interviews below, discover what Samuel Boucher, Ali Cachero, Amélie Chiasson David, Sean Collins, Katrina Jabs, Kaiwen Chen, Charles Lafontaine, Antony Linares, Tekaronhiakanere Maracle, Joliane Nadeau, Charles-Antoine Parent, Livia Poliquin, Enola Quenet, Alexandra Rochon, Alexis Roy, Andrea Vu, Ikram Beghdadi and Danika Belzile took away from their IREx experience.

Samuel Boucher

Intern from Université de Montréal who worked with Lisa Dang at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

During my internship, I mapped the thermal emission of a lava planet using infrared observations of the system’s brightness variation over several consecutive orbits (each including a transit and a secondary eclipse). This planet, slightly larger than Earth, falls into the category of ultra-short period super-Earths, and the distance between it and its star is about 37 times shorter than the distance between Mercury and the Sun. Its temperature is extreme enough that its permanent day side could potentially host a magma ocean.

What was interesting about this project?

Previous observations revealed that this target has an unusually low density, which could be explained by various scenarios, such as the presence of an atmosphere. However, this scenario seems unlikely, as any gaseous envelope should have gradually escaped into space due to the strong irradiation from the star. The collaboration is therefore trying to verify its presence and, if confirmed, explain it.

What did you discover? What was your most important result?

Unfortunately, I cannot share results at this time because the study is still ongoing. However, my phase curve analysis was useful to the team, which is testing different models to explain the data. The collaboration is expected to soon publish its first results, and those stemming from my work should eventually follow.

What did you learn this summer?

I learned how to infer the heat distribution and reflectivity of an exoplanet using phase curves. To achieve this, I became familiar with various Python tools such as batman, celerite, and emcee. This was my first research experience using the MCMC method and data from the NIRSpec instrument. Overall, my experience greatly improved my programming skills and deepened my knowledge and understanding of data analysis in the context of exoplanet research.

What was the biggest challenge?

The main challenge was learning the methods to study phase curves, as I had previously only performed photometry without temporal dependence. More specifically, the biggest technical challenge was isolating the planet’s contribution to the signal by removing correlated noise from the instrument, the star, and possibly other contaminants.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

I really enjoyed learning a wealth of useful information related to this research field during the accelerated training offered at the beginning of the summer. It greatly helped my understanding and broke the ice with the other interns. I also had the chance to meet collaborators multiple times, which was my favourite part of the internship. It allowed me to feel even more involved in the project and provided an enriching immersion in the world of research.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

It is possible that I will keep working on this exciting project part-time during the next semester. Moreover, I am on track to obtain my bachelor’s degree in maths and physics at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, and I plan on joining a MSc program next. I was considering several areas of research before the summer, but this experience at IREx definitely confirmed my interest in pursuing research on exoplanets. If I do continue in this field next year, it is safe to say that my internship here will have prepared me perfectly!

Ali Cachero

Trottier Intern from McGill University who worked with Björn Benneke at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

To probe the atmospheric composition of exoplanets, we use spectroscopy. This currently happens through two techniques: at high resolution from ground-based telescopes or at low resolution from space-based telescopes. Both techniques have their strengths and faults, and the norm is to use one or the other for a given atmospheric investigation. This summer, I looked at combining high and low resolution spectroscopy to discover if joining the two in analysis is a powerful way to retrieve stronger constraints on the molecular species and temperature structure of an exoplanet’s atmosphere.

What was interesting about this project?

It was really interesting to get into the details of both high and low resolution spectroscopy and familiarize myself with their individual processes despite having the same end goal. The statistical analysis that takes raw spectroscopy data to tangible atmospheric results can be very complex and daunting to try to understand, but I feel like I had a very unique perspective of the bigger picture as I learned these techniques simultaneously.

What did you discover? What was your most important result?

I was excited to discover that combining high and low-res spectroscopy was very efficient in better constraining atmospheric composition. These two techniques have strengths where the other has weaknesses, so using them together was very useful in removing the gaps in our results that we usually have to deal with when using just one.

What did you learn this summer?

I didn’t have a lot of coding experience before this summer, and suddenly I had to work with this giant work of code (SCARLET, developed by Björn) that had so many moving pieces and little details. SCARLET can handle low or high resolution analysis individually, but there was some implementation work that I needed to complete before being able to run my joint retrieval. It challenged me to be creative in a way that I hadn’t had to do before.

What was the biggest challenge?

I had little programming experience before this summer, and suddenly I had to work with this huge code (SCARLET, developed by Björn) containing many moving parts and small details. SCARLET can handle high- or low-resolution analysis individually, but I had to implement certain components before launching my joint research. This pushed me to be more creative than ever before.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

Apart from the project, this internship provided so much exposure to the field of exoplanet research. The institute itself has regular internal events where current research is casually presented and discussed. The easy access to network and collaborate with other members of the exoplanet community was very helpful for my research, and talking to more experienced researchers was very inspiring. There was also a chance to visit the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, which was beyond cool and introduced me to the instrumentation aspect of the field.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

I am continuing my studies in physics and geophysics at McGill University while I continue to work with Professor Benneke and his group on this project. This summer was my first experience doing research, and I have definitely found a passion for it and intend to seek out diverse research opportunities as I finish my undergrad. This internship has helped me expand my network beyond my university and solidified my interest in astrophysics.

Amélie Chiasson David

Trottier Intern from McGill University who worked with Jonathan Gagné at the Planétarium de Montréal / Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

My internship focused on using statistical methods to estimate substellar masses, with the goal of identifying planetary-mass objects in the MOCA database. Using known data on temperature and age, I carefully constructed distributions to interpolate within a theoretical model and obtain a final mass distribution for each object.

What was interesting about this project?

I enjoyed having to find the right statistical methods to apply within the model I used for my calculations. Translating ideas from paper sketches into programming implementation was the most satisfying part (especially when it worked!). It was also fascinating to learn more about planetary-mass objects and brown dwarfs, a field I did not know before joining IREx.

What did you discover? What was your most important result?

The most important result came at the end, when I produced a graph showing that about twenty new planemos were identified in the database. These objects might previously have been considered part of another category, but after recalculating their mass with my method, they now fall into the “planemo” category. This could have important implications for statistical or atmospheric studies of these objects, which would require telescope time!

What did you learn this summer?

It was my first time working with a database, which required learning SQL. It wasn’t too tedious, but it’s a very useful skill for managing and organizing data. I also greatly improved my Python programming skills, particularly in applying statistical methods, since all my code was written from scratch, with the help of some libraries, of course.

What was the biggest challenge?

This relates to choosing statistical methods and implementing them in calculations. It was sometimes difficult to visualize what was happening in the code and verify that it was functioning correctly. Writing ideas on paper helped a lot, and in the end, everything fell into place.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

I greatly enjoyed applying my Python knowledge and developing my own code, which I was then able to put on GitHub. I also loved meeting new people and discovering a warm community of researchers passionate about their work. Visiting Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic was another highlight, as it gave me insight into instrumentation, an aspect rarely covered in university courses.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

My plans are to continue in astrophysics, potentially in modelling and studying fluid dynamics in exoplanet and / or stellar systems. I plan to apply for graduate studies in Canada and abroad in an astrophysics program. I believe IREx has provided me with a great opportunity to learn what it means to be a researcher and gain experience in collaboration, communication and programming, qualities which I think will all be put to good use in grad school.

Sean Collins

Trottier Intern from the University of British Columbia who worked with Nicolas Cowan at McGill University

What was your internship about?

This summer, I focused on researching one of nature’s most extreme planets: LTT 9779 b. As an ultrahot Neptune orbiting extremely close to its host star, its atmosphere should have been stripped away long ago. Using James Webb Space Telescope observations, I probed the planet’s longitudinal structure to better understand how it retains its atmosphere. In addition, I worked on a side project to confirm a planetary candidate and search for evidence of other bodies in its system.

What was interesting about this project?

It was fascinating to take raw telescope data and transform it into a deeper understanding of this planet. I saw firsthand how exoplanet characterization combines state-of-the-art instrumentation with theoretical models to reveal the nature of distant worlds. Experiencing this process gave me a stronger appreciation for how we connect observations to theory to understand the cosmos.

What did you discover? What was your most important result?

Using JWST observations, I created a longitudinal temperature “map” of LTT 9779 b. I found the planet is extremely inefficient at redistributing heat to its nightside, likely leading to the observed chemical asymmetries around the planet. My analysis also suggested unusually low wind speeds, which may point to the influence of a magnetic field. This work culminated in co-authoring a JWST paper, marking an exciting opportunity to contribute to the broader understanding of exoplanet science.

What did you learn this summer?

This summer, I gained a deeper understanding of planetary “energy budgets”. That is, how the balance between absorbed and emitted energy reveals a planet’s physical properties. Beyond science, I learned about the exoplanet community through group meetings, talks, and a conference in Montreal. These experiences showed me that science is fundamentally collaborative, and in exoplanet research especially, progress depends on working closely with others.

What was the biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge was learning to translate results into clear, concise scientific writing. I also discovered how nonlinear research can be, with side projects and unexpected changes shaping the direction of my work. While my internship turned out quite different from what I first imagined, I came to see this as a strength of the research process. Learning to adapt and remain flexible was a challenge, but ultimately a rewarding part of the experience.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

What I liked most about my internship was being part of the exoplanet community. Through group meetings, presentations, and a conference, I experienced firsthand how collaboration and idea-sharing drive research forward. At the same time, I enjoyed the thrill of discovery. Transforming raw telescope data into new knowledge about a planet at the edge of our understanding made the experience both intellectually exciting and personally rewarding.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

I will be applying for graduate school in the fall of 2025. After my great experience with the IREx, my goal will be to stay within the exoplanet community for graduate studies. In the short term, I will be extending my research from the summer into an honours thesis for the upcoming school year.

Katrina Jabs

Trottier Intern from the University of Calgary who worked with René Doyon & Alexandrine L’Heureux at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

Improving Effective Temperatures Measurements of M-Dwarfs using High Resolution Spectroscopy

What was interesting about this project?

The spectra of M-dwarfs are complex since they are dominated by dense molecular lines. However, since M-dwarfs are prime exoplanet hosts, it’s important to improve spectroscopic methods of temperature determination. The pipeline I worked with for temperature calculation had only been applied to SPIRou data using groups of 20 lines over the entire spectrum. When NIRPS data were used, they gave much higher results than expected. Since NIRPS cuts out the k-band, cutting out many lines, this caused many questions to arise. Is there a systematic shift towards higher temperatures? What if we calculate temperatures line by line instead of in groups of 20 lines?

What did you discover? What was your most important result?

Determining overall temperature using a line-by-line technique for multiple stars and comparing these to previous interferometric values, I found spectroscopic temperatures were shifted a predictable amount above interferometric values. This applied to data with and without the k-band. This shift was able to be corrected by introducing a temperature gradient model. This gave us a way to compare the flux spectra with the gradient spectra and only select lines sensitive to temperature changes. Taking lines with gradient values above 0.0004 and below -0.0004 allowed interferometric and spectroscopic values to agree for stars above 3200K.

What did you learn this summer?

I learnt how effective temperature is calculated using spectroscopic methods and how sensitive these methods are in determining temperature. Changing batch size, removing the k-band and filtering which lines were selected shifted the results in different ways. Since effective temperatures are a fundamental property of stars, this highlights just how important it is to improve these methods.

What was the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge I faced was trying to correct effective temperature measurements for stars below 3200K. I worked with a wide range of tolerance values to filter out sensitive lines and once I had run all the code, I found that calculations for lower temperature stars didn’t correct like higher temperature stars did. Their spectrums also had significantly less usable lines. I tried to correct these calculations by changing model temperatures or trying different tolerance values but my attempts were unsuccessful.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

I really enjoyed that my internship allowed me to be creative and apply problem-solving skills. I was given a general problem and then given freedom to decide what plots to create and what data to compare that I thought would be important. Sharing my results with my supervisor advanced the project in new directions, so I felt as if I played a key role in developing my research project.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

My internship gave me valuable research experience and solidified my decision to continue in astrophysics research. Although I thought exoplanet research was interesting and exciting, I have decided to switch gears and pursue research in cosmology in the following years. With this internship as a foundation, I hope to apply to international internships to grow my experience and knowledge.

Kaiwen Chen

FRQNT Intern from John Abbott College who worked with Lisa Dang at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

Forward Modeling of Exoplanetary Phase Curves for ARIEL: estimating Wind Speed from Light Curve

What was interesting about this project?

Studying exoplanetary phase curves reveals how winds redistribute heat on distant worlds. By modelling light curves, we can estimate atmospheric wind speeds, unlocking clues about climate and circulation. This method offers a powerful tool to understand exoplanet atmospheres and compare them across different planetary systems.

What did you discover? What was your most important result?

I learned how effective data modelling can be for comprehending complex systems during my internship. Creating a program that automatically extracts data from NASA Archive and analyzes observational data using modelling techniques was my most important output. With the help of this program, the data was processed more quickly, and the patterns in the data were better understood.

What did you learn this summer?

By sharing responsibilities and working together on group projects this summer, I improved my interpersonal skills. Additionally, I learned the fundamentals of forward modelling, light curve analysis, and exoplanet science. I gained a better understanding of how scientific research is structured and how various skills contribute to the resolution of complex problems by working with knowledgeable individuals.

What was the biggest challenge?

During my internship, coding was the largest challenge. I had trouble at first understanding how to efficiently organize my code and how to troubleshoot errors without becoming stuck for too long. Even minor errors occasionally took me a long time to correct because I was still learning how to program.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

The trip to the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic was my favourite part of my internship. I have gained a greater respect for astronomy after seeing the telescopes and learning about the data collection process. Making the connection between my coding work and actual observations of planets and stars was motivating. The night view was the best I have seen in my life

What are your future plans and how your internship will help you in those plans?

I intend to attend McGill University for a career in mechanical and aerospace engineering. I gained useful experience in problem-solving, coding, and working with actual scientific data during my internship at IREx. I will benefit from these abilities in engineering, where technical tools and analytical thinking are crucial. It also gave me more self-assurance to take on difficult tasks.

Charles Lafontaine

Intern from Université de Montréal who worked with Romain Allart & Joost Wardenier at Université de Montréal

What was your project about?

I worked with data from the James Webb Space Telescope to characterize the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76b. To do this, I used an algorithm that simulates what the data would look like under different basic parameters and tests whether this model matches the observed data.

What is interesting about this project?

This project was interesting because atmospheric analysis of exoplanets is a rapidly growing field in astrophysics and holds great promise for the search for potential forms of life. It is therefore motivating and important to contribute to advancing this area of research.

What did you discover? What is your most important result?

By working with three sets of reduced data, I was able to identify several possible components of WASP-76b’s atmosphere. The most notable result concerns the molecule SiO, which seems particularly promising and useful for explaining a variation observed in the data.

What did you learn this summer?

This was my first experience in astronomy, and I learned a lot about exoplanet detection, atmospheric analysis, and the factors that affect the data. I mainly worked with the STARSHIP module, which allowed me to become familiar with retrievals, a key method for comparing models and observations.

What was the biggest challenge?

Since this was my first research experience, the biggest challenge was getting oriented at the beginning. It took time to understand the tools, absorb the methods, and develop a certain level of autonomy. For example, I had to learn how to use ComputeCanada, a remote-access platform for running computationally heavy codes.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

What I appreciated most during my internship was the constant support from the IREx team. My two supervisors, Joost Wardenier and Romain Allart, were always available to answer my questions. Even when they were attending conferences, I could easily find another IREx member ready to help me, creating a very collaborative and motivating work environment.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

I plan to continue my studies in physics at the master’s and doctoral levels. This internship was therefore an excellent opportunity to discover the world of research and astrophysics in a practical way. This experience gave me a better understanding of the methods, challenges, and work environment, which will help me to be better prepared and know what to expect for the next steps in my career.

Antony Linares

Trottier Intern from Université de Montréal who worked with David Lafrenière at Université de Montréal

What was your project about?

My project focused on determining stellar ages using exoplanet transit observations. A transit observation provides a measurement of the density of the exoplanet’s host star, which can be used to estimate the star’s age. Using this method with the James Webb Space Telescope is very new, and the goal of my internship was to evaluate its effectiveness and limitations.

What is interesting about this project?

This project is exciting because accurately determining stellar ages is very challenging. This method can help estimate the ages of exoplanetary systems for which a transit has been observed with low uncertainty. This is essential for understanding the evolution of exoplanet atmospheres over time and the formation of the systems that host them.

What did you discover? What is your most important result?

I found that this method greatly improves the precision of age estimates for Sun-like stars. However, the results for stars less massive than the Sun were inconclusive. Using stellar evolution models better suited to these types of stars could improve this outcome.

What did you learn this summer?

With my supervisor’s help, I learned how to extract a stellar density measurement from a transit observation and how to use stellar evolution models to predict a star’s age. I also learned a lot about stellar physics and about how physical quantities are estimated in astrophysics.

What was the biggest challenge?

The greatest challenge during my internship was ensuring that my results were credible. Determining stellar ages depends on theoretical models of stellar physics. Several models exist, each producing slightly different results. It is therefore important to know the biases and limitations of each model and to compare their outputs.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

I had the opportunity to spend some time at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic during my internship, which I really enjoyed. As an amateur astronomer, I loved being at the site, and helping to adjust a professional telescope and its instruments was a memorable experience. I also learned a lot about how an astronomical observatory operates.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

This internship gave me my first experience in astrophysics research, a subject that has always fascinated me. It confirmed my decision to pursue studies in this field after completing my undergraduate degree. Next year, I would like to continue my studies at the master’s level. I hope to have the opportunity to do my master’s degree at IREx.

Tekaronhiakanere Maracle

Intern from McGill University who worked with Nicolas Cowan at McGill University

What was your internship about?

My internship focused on improving how to study heat transfer on exoplanets by using spatially resolved energy balance models. I specifically worked on synchronously rotating exoplanets, which always show the same side to their star, resulting in a permanent day side and night side. These models divide the planet into vertical slices to simulate how heat is transferred from the day side to the dark side, e.g. winds.

What’s interesting about this project?

It’s a fascinating area of study because understanding heat transfer is essential to studying planetary climates. Gaining deeper insights into how heat moves through an atmosphere can help answer big questions about a planet by revealing its thermal structure, atmospheric composition, and the potential presence of oceans. The more information we gather, the better we’ll be able to understand other exoplanets as well.

What did you discover? What is your most important result?

Since I was only a part-time intern, I didn’t end up with concrete results. However, the work I contributed this summer will be passed on to other researchers and used in the study of the exoplanet WASP-121b. Eventually, it will become part of a larger package that can be used to study future exoplanets as well.

What did you learn this summer?

From day one, during the exoplanet crash course, I learned so many fascinating things about exoplanet science, like how transits work, why stars play a crucial role in this field, and much more. I kept learning through weekly research presentations, where I got to use what I’d learned and really deepen my understanding. I also had the chance to speak with many graduate students, learning about their research and academic paths, which has made me even more excited to pursue my own journey.

What was your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge I faced was feeling behind compared to the other interns, especially as one of the youngest participants this year. I had little to no prior experience with tools like Python and LaTeX, so I had to learn a lot very quickly. Another important lesson was learning to ask questions instead of spending hours staring at buggy code—reaching out for help made a big difference.

What did you enjoy most about your internship?

One of my favourite parts of the experience was attending the weekly research cafés, where different researchers shared their work. Even though some of the topics were complicated, I learned a lot from these sessions. I also loved learning to code and understanding the research process—I found it all incredibly rewarding. I also had the chance to meet many other students, and I’d love the opportunity to collaborate with them again in the future.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

This summer was an incredible learning experience, as I had the opportunity to work with professors and graduate students. It has greatly increased my confidence in pursuing further studies. Since I’m still early in my undergraduate journey, I plan to explore different fields through future internships. Gaining this experience has shown me just how many possibilities exist, and I’m still in the process of discovering which path I’d like to specialize in for graduate school.

Joliane Nadeau

Marie Curie Intern from Université de Montréal, Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu who worked with René Doyon & Charles Cadieux at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

My internship focused on determining the masses of the exoplanets in the TOI-700 planetary system, mainly using radial velocity data obtained with the ESPRESSO spectrograph. Although TOI-700 has already been analyzed in previous studies, the goal was to estimate the planets’ masses with greater precision using more recent approaches. In particular, I used the dTemp indicator, a new stellar activity detection technique that measures subtle variations in the star’s average disc temperature, allowing us to better distinguish planetary signals from those produced by stellar activity.

What’s interesting about this project?

Studying the masses of TOI-700 exoplanets is especially interesting because, combined with their radius measured via transits, it allows us to calculate their density and assess their composition. This information is crucial for estimating their habitability potential.

What did you discover? What is your most important result?

Previous studies attributed a rotation period of about 54 days to TOI-700. However, by modelling its stellar activity using the dTemp data obtained with ESPRESSO, I identified a strong signal around 29 days instead of 54. Could this signal correspond to the true rotation period of TOI-700? To test this hypothesis and understand the signal’s origin, a new joint analysis combining our more precise radial velocity measurements and the dTemp indicator would be relevant.

What did you learn this summer?

This summer, I deepened my knowledge of exoplanet detection methods. I studied the radial velocity method, which measures variations in a star’s motion caused by the gravitational pull of an orbiting planet, and the transit method, which observes the dip in a star’s brightness when a planet passes in front of it. I also learned to model stellar activity using the dTemp indicator and MCMC sampling, allowing me to better distinguish stellar activity signals from those generated by exoplanets.

What was your biggest challenge?

The first stage of my internship was the most demanding due to the large amount of information to assimilate. It took me some time to become familiar with Python. Once the initial difficulties were overcome, I was able to progress efficiently in my work.

What did you enjoy most about your internship?

I greatly enjoyed deepening my knowledge of astrophysics and being part of a team that shares my passion. I had the opportunity to participate in enriching activities, like the IREx cafés, which introduced me to new topics each week. Although I arrived later than the other interns, I was warmly welcomed by the team, whom I got to know throughout this experience.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

I plan to pursue my studies in physics at the Université de Montréal, where I hope to further explore and understand the workings of the universe. Astronomy has always been a passion of mine, and my internships have given me valuable experiences, allowing me to gain substantial knowledge and further develop my skills in this field. I also hope to build a career in astrophysics after completing my studies, combining my interests with the skills I have gained.

Charles-Antoine Parent

Trottier Intern from Université Laval who worked with Patrick Dufour at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

During my internship, I studied the characteristics of a triple star system in which a white dwarf was discovered near our solar system. I used data from SPIRou, among other sources, to characterize the orbital and atmospheric properties of the stars in the system.

What’s interesting about this project?

My project was interesting because triple systems containing white dwarfs are uncommon, especially at such a close distance to our solar system. This allows us to study stellar dynamics, masses, and properties in detail, which can later be used to validate theoretical models.

What did you discover? What is your most important result?

Using the data I worked with, we showed that the velocity variation of a star in a known binary system was caused by a third star, which turned out to be a white dwarf. My orbital analysis of these stars allowed me to determine their masses with very high precision, which is a very valuable result.

What did you learn this summer?

This summer, I learned a lot about exoplanet research, white dwarfs, and stars in general. I also improved my programming and data analysis skills, as well as my understanding of the tools used in astrophysics. It was also an opportunity to practice my scientific communication and presentation skills.

What was your biggest challenge?

To complete my project, I had to become familiar with tools, techniques, and a subject I initially knew little about. I had to code a method myself to determine the orbital parameters of the stars I was studying, since existing codes were not perfectly suited to the nature of the data I worked with.

What did you enjoy most about your internship?

I really enjoyed the IREx team with whom I collaborated throughout my internship. I also loved all the learning opportunities I had over the summer, from group meetings to my stay at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

Following the completion of my final year in the undergraduate physics program at Université Laval, I plan to pursue a master’s degree at Université de Montréal. My internship at IREx has been a valuable opportunity, for which I am really grateful for, to strengthen my skills and my interest in research. This experience has greatly motivated me and will be a key asset in my future academic and professional pursuits.

Livia Poliquin

FRQNT Intern from Marianopolis College who worked with Jonathan Gagné at the Space for Life Planetarium/Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

During my internship, I wrote a code that transforms light measurements from small, cool stars into probable ages for a research database, to facilitate the study of young stars and their planets. I also worked on a project about hot Jupiters, evaluating the feasibility of a telescope program to constrain their occurrence rate around young, low-mass stars.

What’s interesting about this project?

What I found most interesting was applying what I had learned in school, such as Python programming and statistics, in a real research context, and diving into very specific and advanced aspects of astrophysics that I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise!

What did you discover? What is your most important result?

I calculated thousands of stellar ages, which will contribute to studies of young stars and their planets in the Montreal Open Clusters and Associations (MOCA) database. I also helped the NIRPS telescope team by assessing the feasibility of a potential observing program and concluded that it was possible.

What did you learn this summer?

I learned programming for data analysis and how to apply it to astrophysics research. I also learned to estimate star ages by analyzing their calcium absorption lines and explored various aspects of exoplanets, including how telescope programs are designed to study them.

What was your biggest challenge?

As a CÉGEP student, there were concepts I hadn’t learned yet, so I had to spend time learning the basics. Once I figured that out, the work became much easier than I had imagined!

What did you enjoy most about your internship?

I really enjoyed gaining hands-on experience in astrophysics and developing concrete skills in the field. I also loved meeting other interns and IREx members, all very passionate about their work!

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

I have been considering a career in astrophysics, and my internship helped me clarify and orient my plans.

Enola Quenet

Intern from Université de Montréal who worked with Romain Allart & Joost Wardenier at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

This summer, my goal was to adapt the Starships codes (based on petitRadtrans) for high-resolution emission spectroscopy (NIRPS) to obtain an atmospheric model of WASP-189b, focusing mainly on the iron abundance.

What’s interesting about this project?

An interesting part of my project was identifying the challenges of working at high resolution with an emission spectrum and finding solutions to overcome them. Starships codes had rarely or never been used for high resolution with NIRPS on an emission spectrum. The goal was also to get a first look at WASP-189b’s atmosphere by applying the proper data reductions.

What did you discover? What is your most important result?

An initial result was the kp-vsys maps (exploring radial and orbital velocity parameters) that clearly show the planet detection. Out of five nights, I obtained three excellent detections, one with unusual features, and one with no detection. This allowed me to define masking parameters for each night and identify which nights required more work. Subsequently, I was able to extract a spectrum from the reduced data with parameters close to the expected values.

What did you learn this summer?

I learned to use petitRadtrans as well as reduction and cross-correlation methods, and how to extract the atmospheric properties of an exoplanet. I also learned the specifics of ultra-hot Jupiters and how to create an atmospheric model from an emission spectrum.

What was your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge was learning all the Starships code commands and, more importantly, getting up to speed on the knowledge required to understand exoplanets, their atmospheres, and the use of emission and transmission spectra.

What did you enjoy most about your internship?

I loved my internship because it allowed me to learn a lot about exoplanets and their atmospheres. It was my first scientific research experience, and it allowed me to explore different aspects of working in this field.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

After this summer I’m convinced that I want to continue in astrophysics. My internship helped me learn many basis that will surely be useful in my futur. In the meantime, I might continue working part time on some similar projects with my supervisors!

Alexandra Rochon

Intern from McGill University & McMaster University who worked with René Doyon & Lisa Dang at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

I used images captured by the MIRI instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope to study the rocky exoplanet LHS 1140 c. These images are taken when the planet passes behind its host star, reducing the light we receive and allowing us to determine the planet’s temperature and constrain its orbit. My project aimed to develop a method to analyze this type of observation. I returned to IREx this summer to finish a project I had started in summer 2024!

What’s interesting about this project?

This exoplanet is part of the LHS1140 system, which was widely discussed at IREx last year because the second exoplanet, LHS1140 b, is potentially covered by oceans! This planet is also in its star’s habitable zone, making this system the second closest to us after Trappist-1 where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Studying planet c helped us better understand this system and learn more about the intriguing planet b.

What did you discover? What is your most important result?

The project aimed to better understand issues that arise during data reduction and develop an efficient method to handle noise in the data. We developed a new method to model the signal in the data, producing results consistent with published values, while even improving their precision! I am currently writing a scientific paper on our method and results.

What did you learn this summer?

Most of my internship was spent writing a scientific paper to publish my results. This was a new process for me, and I greatly improved my scientific writing skills. I learned about all the work involved in preparing a peer-reviewed article and am very happy to have had this experience, which will prepare me well for graduate studies.

What was your biggest challenge?

Scientific communication is an art and a real challenge. While writing my paper, I struggled to find the right words and formulate my ideas clearly. I found that making a detailed plan beforehand and working section by section helped a lot. It was a big learning experience!

What did you enjoy most about your internship?

This was my third summer at IREx. I really enjoyed my project and being part of the research institute and its community, participating in enriching activities like IREx Café sessions or the EXOCLIMES 7 conference, and meeting other interns. I also visited the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic for the second time to work with the telescope for a few days, which I loved!

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

I am starting a Master’s this fall in astrophysics at McMaster University. I will be studying exoplanets and, while the specifics of my projects will be different from what I have done before, my internships at IREx have prepared me greatly. Over three summers, I explored different aspects of exoplanet science, like climate modelling, photometric observation, hot Jupiters, and terrestrial planets. The scale and variety of the projects I worked on at IREx have prepared me for graduate studies.

Alexis Roy

Trottier intern from Université de Sherbrooke who worked with Jason Rowe at Bishop’s University

What was your internship about?

My internship was about the development of a model coded in Python that generates transit light curves. I then used this model to fit data from the space telescope TESS, which allows us to infer the properties of the transiting objects. I applied this fitting procedure to the entire catalogue of objects of interest from TESS, in order to correct errors in the catalogue.

What was interesting about this project?

This project was very interesting because it allowed me to explore different aspects. I had the opportunity to use my coding experience to develop a transit model that anyone can use. I also had the chance to work with actual data from a space telescope and use it to find the properties of newly discovered objects, which I find very fascinating.

What did you discover? What was your most important result?

While remodelling the TESS catalogue, I was also searching for extra transits that were not found before in the data. I found about 3 or 4 interesting candidates for exoplanets, which means that these systems could potentially be multiplanetary. Multiplanetary systems are relatively rare, so it’s important to discover more.

What did you learn this summer?

This summer, I learned a lot about the science behind transits. Even if the concept is simple at first, there is actually a lot more depth to it. For example, the reason transits are “U” shaped and not flat at the bottom is because stars appear brighter when looking at their center than when looking at their edge. I had never thought about that concept before!

What was the biggest challenge?

Working with data from TESS can be tricky sometimes. Some of the data is really messy, and even though there are ways to make it cleaner, it doesn’t always work perfectly. This can cause the fitting procedure or the algorithm for finding transits to perform poorly, and can be a real headache.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

What I liked the most about my internship is the fact that the work that I did during the summer will be used by the scientific community. For example, my transit model is planned to be used in the Roman Space Telescope pipeline for finding transiting exoplanets. I just love to know that my work will have a real impact.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

After my Bachelor’s, I intend to do graduate studies, probably in the field of astrophysics. This internship helped me acquire experience on research, coding and working with data from space telescopes, just to name a few. This will definitely help me with what is to come.

Andrea Vu

Intern from the University of Waterloo who worked with Loïc Albert at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

My internship focused on studying white dwarfs in JWST’s MIRI images by using a technique called PSF fitting to search for faint, close-in companions that could be hidden in the star’s light. I also worked on testing how sensitive the PSF fitting method is using the injection and recovery method, where I simulated fake companions and checked if the code could find them. This helps set detection limits and improves our ability to identify real exoplanets or companions around white dwarfs.

What was interesting about this project?

I’m a big-time visual learner, so the whole process was really engaging. The injection part, where I built things almost from scratch, was especially exciting because I could see how each step of my code looked visually and watch the images transform into simulated binaries. I also loved the rewarding moment when the desired results popped up on the screen. Overall, the project really helped me bridge the gap between coding and astrophysics in a very hands-on way.

What did you discover? What was your most important result?

After performing the PSF fitting, I identified three possible companion candidates, though they would all require further testing to be confirmed. For the sensitivity analysis, I generated a colormap showing the recovered fraction of injected binaries from my second run. This result brings me just one step away from being able to draw the 50% recovery line, which will set a detection threshold for the method.

What did you learn this summer?

This summer, I learned a wide range of skills, from setting up environments and working with the terminal to running scripts on supercomputers. I became much more comfortable with coding, picking up new libraries and techniques commonly used in astronomy. On the research side, I gained a deeper understanding of PSF fitting and how to measure the sensitivity of a method through injection and recovery tests. I also developed a stronger grasp of the different kinds of data collected by various telescopes and how that data can be analyzed.

What was the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge I faced this summer was the steep technical learning curve. At the start, I had to figure out how to run my code on the Linux terminal while using a Windows laptop, which meant getting comfortable with a completely different operating system. Once I overcame that, the next step was learning to work on the virtual computing platform CANFAR, which required adapting my workflow to a new environment. Finally, I had to scale everything up and execute large batches of my code on a supercomputer. This is a task that was both intimidating and exciting, but ultimately gave me a lot of confidence in handling large-scale data processing.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

My favourite part of the internship has definitely been the IREx team and how welcoming and supportive everyone is. From day one, I felt included, and whenever I had questions about coding issues, astronomy concepts, or even career advice, my supervisor or another team member was always ready to help. Their encouragement not only made the learning process easier but also created a really positive and inspiring environment to work in. I truly felt like I  belonged, which made the whole experience even more meaningful.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

My next steps are to finish my bachelor’s degree and then enroll in graduate school, where I hope to keep building on the research experience I gained this summer. This internship has shown me what it’s really like to work on astrophysics research and confirmed that this is the career path I want to pursue. I now feel more confident and motivated to stay committed to a future in astrophysics, whether that means studying exoplanets, white dwarfs, or other exciting areas of research.

Ikram Beghdadi

Instrumentation intern from Polytechnique Montréal who worked with the entire OMM team (Frédérique Baron, Lison Malo, Philippe Vallée, Jonathan St-Antoine) at Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

My internship focused on the design of the VROOM astronomical spectrometer for the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic telescope. I worked on the 3D modelling of the cryostat, which includes the cryogenic cooler and the vacuum chamber. I concentrated on the best methods for creating and maintaining the vacuum in this chamber to ensure the optimal conditions needed to obtain the best possible spectrometer images. I also repeatedly analysed the different options to design the most suitable moisture absorber model.

What was interesting about this project?

What I found interesting about this project was the opportunity to work in a vacuum environment. As a mechanical engineer, we usually work under normal conditions, but working in a vacuum environment completely changes the working parameters, especially heat transfer and the behaviour of materials. This gave me the chance to learn new techniques and deepen my understanding of how the cryostat works in the VROOM spectrometer.

What did you discover? What was your most important result?

My most important result is the final CAD model of the cryostat, which I designed by assembling its different components. Some parts will need to be manufactured, others purchased, to build the final cryostat. Another crucial component I modelled in 3D is the moisture absorber, also called the “getter.” Its model was optimized over several iterations during my internship to ensure the best possible performance in maintaining the vacuum and preserving the conditions needed for high-quality spectrometer images.

What did you learn this summer?

This summer allowed me to acquire a great deal of knowledge about astronomical instrumentation. I was also able to deepen my knowledge about exoplanets thanks to the crash course given by Jason Rowe. In addition, the observation nights were particularly enriching for gaining a better understanding of what an astronomer’s job is really like.

What was the biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge was familiarizing myself with a field I had never encountered before. My mechanical engineering program is very general and does not specialize in any particular field, and astronomy is literally one of the most distant areas from what I had explored during my previous internships.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

What I appreciated the most about my internship was the good organization and being well supported by my colleagues and supervisors. They were very competent and approachable, which allowed me to learn a lot. I was never left without answers, as the team was organized so that there was always someone available to respond to my questions under the best possible conditions.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

The fields of astronomy and aerospace are fascinating, and my internship confirmed my interest in these areas.

Danika Belzile

Intern from Université de Montréal who worked with Jonathan Gagné at the Planétarium de Montréal / Université de Montréal

What was your internship about?

My internship focused on stellar populations in the Sun’s neighbourhood. Using a database containing tens of thousands of stellar associations and clusters (created by Jonathan Gagné), I created graphs to visualize the demographics of stars (their ages, rotation periods, colours, etc.).

What was interesting about this project?

The graphs I created can serve as tools for determining a star’s age. For example, I made a graph with a few thousand stars showing how their rotation periods evolve. Thanks to the trends highlighted in the figure, it becomes possible to estimate the age of a star based solely on its rotation period. Knowing the age of stars is essential for understanding the formation of exoplanets and substellar objects, such as brown dwarfs.

What did you learn this summer?

I learned a lot more about stars and their characteristics. For example, I learned that stars’ rotation periods slow down over time because of an effect called “magnetic braking.” In addition, by using GAIA telescope data and visiting the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, I now have a better understanding of how astronomers collect their data from telescopes.

What was the biggest challenge?

My challenge was daring to ask my supervisor for help whenever I faced a problem or didn’t understand a task. At first, I was afraid of bothering him, but over the weeks I learned how important it is to ask questions — it helps you better understand your project, save time, and improve.

What did you enjoy the most about your internship?

What I enjoyed the most were the people I got to work with. My supervisor, Jonathan Gagné, is an outstanding mentor and researcher. I also formed bonds with the other interns and met inspiring researchers at IREx and from around the world.

What are your future plans, and how will your internship help you in those plans?

My goal is to join the IREx family as a researcher! To achieve this, I plan to do more internships in astrophysics while continuing my studies in physics.