My time at iREx: Antoine Darveau-Bernier

Antoine Darveau-Bernier has been a member of IREx since the start of his PhD in 2016. When he finished his studies, he remained a researcher with the Institute until 2024, when he joined Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Meteorological Centre as a physicist. Here, he answers some of our questions about his work as a postdoctoral fellow at IREx.

IREx: What did you like most about your time in Montreal?

Antoine: I’d say my “time” in Montreal has now lasted 32 years! And I still love this city very much. I feel blessed to live here. Montreal is full of opportunities for a scientist like me. I was able to do all my studies and get a job as a physicist without leaving the island. I love getting around by bike and discovering new parts of the city.

IREx: What are some of the outstanding projects you’ve carried out at IREx?

Antoine: My main project was on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). I used the expertise I developed during my PhD to participate in various projects led by graduate students. A parallel project that also left its mark on me was the development, with my colleague Anne Boucher, of STARSHIPS, of a code for analyzing the atmosphere of exoplanets using Earth-based instruments (e.g. SPIRou or NIRPS). At the start of my PhD, these atmospheres were only studied using space-based telescopes such as JWST. New methods, such as the one implemented in STARSHIPS, have since made it possible to extend this field to ground-based telescopes.

IREx: What questions were you trying to answer?

Antoine: For all these projects, we aimed to determine, unequivocally, what gases make up the atmosphere of a given exoplanet. For example, is there water vapour, carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide?

IREx: What did you discover?

Antoine: The JWST and STARSHIPS projects have enabled us to characterize the atmospheres of several Hot Jupiter-type exoplanets. In particular, we were able to find water, carbon monoxide and even iron in gaseous form!

The new analysis methods developed in STARSHIPS have also made it possible to characterize the wind structure of certain planets and better understand their formation processes.

IREx: What motivates you in exoplanet research?

Antoine: I’d say two things particularly motivate me. Firstly, it’s the discovery of new worlds, being able to study planets that are completely different from what we find in our solar system. Secondly, it’s working in a team with people as motivated as I am!

IREx: Why should people be interested in this kind of work?

Antoine: Because it stimulates the imagination! We’re in a golden age in the study of exoplanets, and I think the future holds many surprises.

IREx: How will your time with us help you in the future?

Antoine: I’m now a physicist at the Canadian Meteorological Centre (Environment and Climate Change Canada). My job is to analyze data from meteorological models to make weather predictions. I’ve gone from analyzing exoplanet atmospheres to terrestrial atmospheres, so there’s much in common. The biggest difference is the accuracy and the amount of data!

You can find out more about STARSHIPS on GitHub, about the James Webb telescope on the dedicated page on our website, and about Antoine’s new employer on the Canadian Meteorological Centre website.