Sherbrooke Record e-Edition

“This is going to be a big thing”

Dr. John Ruan appointed Canada Research Chair in Multi-messenger Astrophysics at Bishop’s

By Gordon Lambie

On Tuesday Bishop’s University announced the appointment of Dr. John Ruan Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Multi-messenger Astrophysics

“This is a position reserved for excellent, emerging, world-class researchers who have demonstrated particular research creativity,” said Bishop’s University’s Vice-principal academic, Miles Turnbull, hailing Ruan as a leader in his field who has already gained international recognition for his work.

Ruan explained that Multimessenger Astrophysics is a relatively new field of study focused on examining the workings of the universe based on data that, up until a few years ago, was purely theoretical.

“Astrophysics is entering an exciting new era,” Ruan said, pointing out that after centuries of studying what can be seen in the universe by means of light, the traditional “cosmic messenger,” recent advances in the measurement of gravitational waves have offered a whole new way of looking at what is happening throughout the cosmos.

“Space itself is actually contracting and stretching and this is something that we can detect,” he said. “Light is no longer the only cosmic messenger.”

Asked about what brought his research to Bishop’s, the researcher praised the school’s foresight in creating the research chair position.

“It’s a very unique opportunity,” he said, calling the new job the highlight of his career so far. Although Ruan was already engaged in the field through past work, he said that many of the most significant moments in multi messenger astrophysics have only taken place within the last five or six years. “It is so new that not a whole lot of people were hiring yet, but Bishop’s had the foresight to create a Canada research chair position for this field, so I jumped on that,” he added, noting, “This is going to be a big thing.”

Ruan said that in addition to exploring the question of what happens when super-dense bodies like black holes and neutron stars collide, his work may also shed light on the ways in which heavy elements like gold are produced (as the conditions for them to form do not exist on Earth).

“This is a pivotal moment for Bishop’s,” said Dr. Kerry Hull, Bishop’s Dean of Science. “John is joining a team that will both generate new knowledge and help develop our next generation

of scientists and educators.”

In the spirit of inspiring future generations, a group of Bishop’s day campers were present at Tuesday’s announcement. Following a question period in which the youths asked questions like, “Can we feel gravitational waves?” “Where do black holes come from?” and “What

telescopes do you use?” Ruan joined them for an art activity based on some of the most well known deep-space images taken over the course of time.

The new Canada Research Chair position was funded through a five year investment of $600,000 from the federal government’s Canada Research Chair Program.

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2021-08-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-08-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

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