Dartmouth Events

Victoria Kaspi is a distinguished astrophysicist whose work has profoundly shaped our understanding of neutron stars and Fast Radio Bursts. A professor of physics at McGill University and the director of the McGill Space Institute, she is renowned for her observational and theoretical contributions to high-energy astrophysics.

In her lecture The Fast Transient Radio Sky, Kaspi will guide us through the frontiers of astrophysics research: Fast Radio Bursts are a recently discovered phenomenon consisting of brief bursts of radio waves (typically few millisecond, so-called transients) coming from far outside our Milky Way galaxy, indeed from cosmological distances. Their origin is unknown. I will review what is known about these mysterious sources, and how they can act as novel probes of the matter distribution in the Universe. I will focus on results from the CHIME Fast Radio Burst Project, which uses a new Canadian digital radio telescope that is revolutionizing our view of the fast transient sky.

Kaspi earned her Ph.D. in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University, and held positions at MIT and the California Institute of Technology before joining McGill. Kaspi is the first woman and one of the youngest researchers to ever win the Herzberg Canada Gold Medal in 2018. She has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada.

Her research primarily uses X-ray and radio telescopes, most notably the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). CHIME is a radio telescope with an ideal design to discover Fast Radio Bursts and to monitor pulsars. Kaspi is a key contributor to building and running CHIME, and has ensured CHIME provides opportunities for junior researchers and community involvement.

A gifted public lecturer, Kaspi is known for clear, engaging talks that translate the physics of extreme matter and relativistic phenomena for general audiences. 

The Public Lecture in Physics and Astronomy Series brings distinguished scientists and science communicators to the Dartmouth community to explore big questions about the universe. We invite everyone to share in the joy of discovery and learn about transformative research in physics and astronomy. These lectures are open, engaging, and thought-provoking. We welcome curious minds of all backgrounds—students, teachers, neighbors, and friends—regardless of your level of science experience. Admission is free, and all are welcome!