Pierrot Lamontagne receives the Hubert Reeves Grant

It is with great pride that we announce that Pierrot Lamontagne, iREx member and Master’s student in astrophysics at Université de Montréal, has been selected as the winner of the Hubert Reeves Grant. The scholarship, named in honour of the famous scientist and science popularizer, rewards outstanding motivation by a Master’s student at the Université de Montréal to pursue studies in astrophysics.

Pierrot, who completed his Bachelor’s degree in physics (specializing in astrophysics) last spring, completed a research internship at iREx under the supervision of David Lafrenière in the summer of 2022, and another in the fall of 2022. His work on the James Webb Space Telescope simulator confirmed his interest in research, and motivated him to pursue further studies.

Since the start of his Master’s studies in September, under the supervision of David Lafrenière, he has demonstrated a contagious enthusiasm for his work, which involves the search for exoplanets with the NIRPS and HARPS instruments, both installed at the 3.6m telescope in La Silla, Chile. He takes great pride in his involvement with the former, an instrument that was partially designed at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic and by members of our institute. Luckily, he had the opportunity to operate this instrument firsthand in Chile during the fall!

Like Hubert Reeves, who was recognized for his great qualities as a popularizer, Pierrot stands out for his commitment to astronomy education and communication. He was an astronomy guide at the ASTROLab in Mont-Mégantic National Park, and actively participates in the various science popularization activities organized by iREx.

We warmly congratulate him on this exceptional achievement!

About the Hubert Reeves Grant

The Hubert Reeves Grant, awarded by the Physics Department of the Faculty of Arts and Science of the Université de Montréal, recognizes a master’s student’s outstanding motivation to pursue graduate studies in astrophysics. This year’s selection committee was made up of professors Nicole St-Louis, Daniel Nadeau and Patrick Dufour, as well as Olivier Hernandez, Director of the Planetarium de Montréal.