A Queen's University scientist has been chosen to lead an international €2.3million hunt to discover how the first chemical elements were created in the Universe.
Professor Stephen Smartt, Director of the Astrophysics Research Centre in the School of Maths and Physics at Queen's will begin a five year research project in April to examine how chemical elements were created in the Universe and try to find the first ever supernovae, or exploding stars, in the Universe.
The grant, awarded by the European Research Council, is regarded as the most prestigious research grant in Europe for funding Science and Social Sciences.
Professor Stephen Smartt, who has beaten off competition from around Europe to scoop the grant said: "I'm absolutely honoured to be awarded such a prestigious grant.
This is great news for Queen's but also for Northern Ireland as this money will be invested in the local economy. The research will involve a team of about a dozen international scientists, who will come to Queen's to work on this project. Being awarded such a prestigious grant is testimony to the fact that Queen's is recognised globally as a leader of research."With this research we hope to understand how chemical elements were first created in the Universe - we think that they were created by the explosions of the most massive stars. The project has an ambitious goal to find the first supernovae that exploded in the Universe. Just recently we have made new discoveries of the brightest supernovae ever found and this grant will build on that success."
Professor James McElnay, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Postgraduates said: "This year, the Nobel prize in Physics was awarded jointly to two teams who used exploding stars to map the shape and expansion of the Universe. These pioneering studies of exploding stars, or supernovae, has led astronomers and physicists to develop new technologies for mapping the skies. Professor Smartt's award will make the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen's a major hub for European research and we are delighted to see Queen's recognised at this level of competition."
The European Research Council have targeted these awards "toward exceptional established research leaders of any nationality and any age to pursue ground-breaking, high-risk projects that open new directions in their respective research fields or other domains". The typical success rate for applicants is around 10 per cent. For more information on ERC grants visit http://erc.europa.eu/
For media inquiries please contact Claire O'Callaghan on 00 44 (0) 2890975391 / 07814415451 or c.ocallaghan@qub.ac.uk