Physics student wins Woolf Fisher Scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge
Victoria University of Wellington Master of Science student Sophia Geris has been awarded a Woolf Fisher Scholarship to complete her PhD in astrophysics.
One of the most highly regarded scholarships available to New Zealand students, it was established in 1960 by Sir Woolf Fisher—co-founder of Fisher and Paykel—to recognise and reward excellence in education. The scholarship covers both study and living costs at Cambridge University in the UK and is worth approximately $70,000 a year for up to four years.
Sophia will undertake a PhD in Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Her PhD research will focus on advancing the efficiency of the processing of astrophysical data—something she’s had a lot of experience with during her Master’s at Victoria University of Wellington. Her Master’s research focused on galaxy clusters—the largest objects in the Universe— and had her working closely with large sets of data.
“My research looks at simulating telescope observations of ‘bubbles’ that are created in galaxy clusters by supermassive black holes. I use Bayesian inference to analyse these observations and to understand the physics of the interplay between the intracluster medium (gas in between the galaxies in the cluster) and the gas within the bubbles.”
Her PhD research will build on this by working to advance astrophysical data analysis techniques through artificial intelligence and machine learning. Improvements in these techniques could provide greater insight into space data and help us dig deeper into some of the more existential questions around space.
“It will mean we can analyse more information from telescopes than has ever been possible. This is crucial to understand what telescopes have seen, and the new information about the Universe they are providing.
“This is incredibly exciting, not only for the astrophysics community, because the possibility of discovery becomes greater, but also to any person who might wonder about the nature of the Universe, our place in it, and what our future might hold.”
Sophia’s inherited a love of communicating complex ideas from her mum—an English teacher by trade—and says that the accessibility of astrophysics, and science generally, is very important to her.
“Being able to communicate to a wide audience about subjects that can seem esoteric, like astrophysics, is really important, because understanding the Universe should be a shared experience among everyone and not be limited to scientists.”
When it comes to her future, Sophia is keeping her options open as she knows there will be many paths she can take in the space industry.
“The field is so dynamic and is only going to continue to grow, so I’m excited to see what the best path will be for me when I come to the end of my PhD. My dream is to contribute to making exciting new discoveries about our Universe that in the past humans might have thought was not possible.”
Sophia’s Master’s supervisor, Dr Yvette Perrott, says that Sophia’s work highlights the breadth of opportunities available within space research.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Sophia to carry on in her space research journey, she’s pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the Universe through working at the interface between astrophysics and big data.”
The Woolf Fisher Scholarship is administered by Universities New Zealand.