Winners of Gruber Foundation Fellowships 2019

ann19033 — Announcement

31 May 2019

Valeriya Korol of Leiden Observatory, the Netherlands, and Martin Turbet of the Geneva Astronomical Observatory, Switzerland, have both been awarded The Gruber Foundation Fellowship for 2019.

In conjunction with the International Astronomical Union (IAU), The Gruber Foundation (TGF) funds an annual fellowship of US$50 000 for young astronomers. This year the evaluation panel has decided to award the fellowship to two recipients, both of whom are extremely promising young researchers working in the field of astrophysics. Each recipient will receive US$25 000.

Valeriya Korol, a PhD candidate from Leiden Observatory, the Netherlands, will be conducting her postdoctoral research on binary white dwarfs and gravitational waves. “I am honoured to have been awarded such a prestigious fellowship. It will be a huge support for my personal career and for promoting future multi-messenger studies with my favourite space mission, LISA. The Gruber Fellowship will also allow me to develop my own outreach project using the sounds of gravitational waves, which will be open access for the public. Finally, the fellowship will give me the means to support early career scientists in the gravitational wave field.”

Martin Turbet, who received his PhD in 2018 from the Sorbonne, France, is currently researching 3D global climate modelling of Earth-like planets. “I am extremely grateful to the Gruber Foundation and honoured to have the privilege of being one of the recipients of this fellowship. Since the beginning of my PhD thesis, I, like many other scientists, have often doubted the validity and interest of my research. This prestigious fellowship will give me the confidence and above all the motivation to continue to contribute as positively as possible in my research fields.”

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together more than 13 500 professional astronomers from more than 100 countries worldwide. Its mission is to promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.