Congratulations to Assistant Professor Gwendolyn Eadie for winning the 2021 Polanyi Prize in Physics for leading the way in the emerging interdisciplinary field of astrostatistics. Eadie is an assistant professor at the David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and the Department of Statistical Sciences at the University of Toronto. Her research at the intersection of astronomy and statistics focuses on harnessing new and big data sets and creating statistical models that help astronomers make more accurate predictions about how dark matter is distributed in galaxies, and how it affects the formation and evolution of galaxies.
“It is worth noting that Gwen is one of the first assistant professors hired in Canada in a joint scientific and academic venture between statistics and astronomy departments," says Radu Craiu, chair of the U of T Department of Statistical Sciences. "In addition to Gwen’s enthusiasm, talent and ability to build bridges, the number of successful initiatives she has spurred speaks volumes about the demand for relevant expertise that exists at the intersection of these two fields.”
The prestigious Polanyi Prizes are awarded annually by the Council of Ontario Universities and recognize the exceptional and groundbreaking work of early-career researchers in Ontario. They are awarded in honour of Ontario’s Nobel Prize winner John C. Polanyi, who won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research in chemical kinetics.
Learn more about the Council of Ontario Universities 2021 Polanyi Prize winners.