Hiranya Peiris

Prof. Hiranya Peiris
in 2016
Born Sri Lanka
Nationality British
Education University of Cambridge and Princeton
Occupation Astrophysicist
Employer UCL, Stockholm University

Hiranya V. Peiris is a British astrophysicist at University College London, best known for her work on the cosmic microwave background radiation. She was one of 27 scientists who received the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2018 for their "detailed maps of the early universe."

Education

Peiris was born in Sri Lanka. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Cambridge in 1998.[1] She earned a PhD at Princeton, where she first worked on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP).[2][3] She went on to work at the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago as a Hubble fellow.[2]

Research and career

In 2007, Peiris returned to the University of Cambridge as an STFC Advanced Fellow and held several competitive postdoctoral fellowships.[4] In 2009, Peiris won a Leverhulme Trust award for cosmology and secured a faculty position at University College London.[2][5] She is currently Professor of Astrophysics at UCL[6] and also the Director of the Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics in Stockholm.[7]

In 2012, the WMAP team (including Peiris) won the Gruber Cosmology Prize for their "exquisite measurements of anisotropies in the relic radiation from the Big Bang---the Cosmic Microwave Background".[8] WMAP’s results on cosmic inflation, which Peiris contributed to, were described by Stephen Hawking as "the most exciting development in physics during his career".[9]

She was skeptical about the 2014 announcement of the discovery of primordial gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background: "If they announce gravitational waves on Monday then I will need a great deal of convincing. But if they do have a robust detection ... Jesus wow! I'll be taking next week off." Mike Hockney used this quote to illustrate that even top scientists need convincing because scientific discoveries are always just interpretations of results.[10]

In 2016, Peiris was elected as a fellow of the American Physical Society and Vice President of the Royal Astronomical Society.

In 2018, Peiris was awarded the Hoyle Medal and Prize of the UK Institute of Physics for “her leading contributions to understanding the origin and evolution of cosmic structure."[11]

Public engagement

Alongside academic talks, Peiris gives public lectures about cosmology.[12][13] She has written articles and given interviews for both radio and print media.[14] She has appeared on podcasts, television programs and the national news.[15] In 2013 she gave a talk at TEDxCERN, "Multiplying Dimensions."[16] That year she was selected as one of Astronomy's top ten rising stars by Astronomy Magazine.[17]

In 2014, Ephraim Hardcastle writing for the Daily Mail, claimed that Peiris had been selected to discuss results from the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization 2 (BICEP-2) experiment on BBC Newsnight because of her gender and ethnicity.[18] His comments were condemned by mainstream media, the Royal Astronomical Society and her employer, University College London.[19][20][21] Peiris offered a rebuttal, "Groundbreaking science is blind to prejudice" in Times Higher Education.[22]

In 2017, Peiris collaborated with artist Penelope Rose Cowley to create artwork entitled "Cosmoparticle".[23]

Awards

Peiris receiving the Fowler Prize in 2012 from Roger Davies

2018 - Fred Hoyle Medal, Institute of Physics[11]

2018 - Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics[24]

2014 - Buchalter Cosmology Prize[25]

2012 - Gruber Prize for Cosmology, Gruber Foundation [8]

2012 - Fowler Prize, Royal Astronomical Society[26]

2009 - Philip Leverhulme Prize, Leverhulme Trust[27]

2007 - Halliday Prize, STFC[28]

2007 - Kavli Frontiers Fellow, National Academy of Sciences[29]

One of a team awarded the 2018 Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics

Peiris was a member of the 27-person team awarded the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.[30] The $3 million USD award was given for the detailed maps of the early universe generated from WMAP.[31] WMAP is a NASA explorer mission that was launched in 2001, which has transformed modern cosmology.[32][33]

Publications

A list of Peiris' publications can be found here.

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Michael T J (2005). Advances In Astronomy: From The Big Bang To The Solar System. World Scientific. p. 122. ISBN 178326019X.
  2. 1 2 3 "Iris View Profile". iris.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  3. ↑ Thompson J Michael T (26 October 2005). Advances In Astronomy: From The Big Bang To The Solar System. World Scientific. pp. 99–. ISBN 978-1-78326-019-5.
  4. ↑ "Dr Hiranya Peiris". Astronomy & Geophysics. 53 (1): 1.37–1.37. 2012-02-01. doi:10.1111/j.1468-4004.2012.53136_7.x. ISSN 1366-8781.
  5. ↑ "The Leverhulme Trust, 2009 Award Winners" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  6. ↑ "Prof Hiranya Peiris". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  7. ↑ "People". www.okc.albanova.se. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  8. 1 2 "2012 Gruber Cosmology Prize Citation | The Gruber Foundation". gruber.yale.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  9. ↑ "2013 Smart Guide: New maps to rein in cosmic inflation". New Scientist. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  10. ↑ Mike Hockney (29 March 2016). How to Create the Universe. Lulu Press, Inc. pp. 279–. ISBN 978-1-326-61200-9.
  11. 1 2 Physics, Institute of. "2018 Fred Hoyle Medal and Prize". www.iop.org. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  12. ↑ The Royal Institution (2016-08-10), Cosmology: Galileo to Gravitational Waves - with Hiranya Peiris, retrieved 2017-12-12
  13. ↑ "Hiranya Peiris | In the Dark". telescoper.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  14. ↑ "Multiverse Proof Possibility From Colliding Universes | Quanta Magazine". Quanta Magazine. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  15. ↑ "February 2011 - show notes". www.jodcast.net. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  16. ↑ "TEDxCERN | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  17. ↑ "Astronomy Magazine names "Rising Stars of Astronomy"". www.earlyuniverse.org. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  18. ↑ "EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Dan Snow blasts Prince Charles' memos to ministers". Mail Online. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  19. ↑ "Scientist (PhD in astrophysics) shocked by reference to her ethnicity". The Independent. 2014-03-21. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  20. ↑ Meikle, James (2014-03-21). "Daily Mail accused of insulting top female scientists". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  21. ↑ Smith, Keith. "RAS statement on Hiranya Peiris and Maggie Aderin-Pocock". www.ras.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  22. ↑ "Groundbreaking science is blind to prejudice". Times Higher Education (THE). 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  23. ↑ "COSMOPARTICLE". Art by Penelope Rose Cowley. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  24. ↑ "Awards Won - Astrophysics Science Division - 660". science.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  25. ↑ "Buchalter Cosmology Prize for Bubble Collision Simulations". www.earlyuniverse.org. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  26. ↑ Massey, Robert. "RAS honours leading astronomers and geophysicists". www.ras.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  27. ↑ "Young researchers win Philip Leverhulme Prizes". Astronomy & Geophysics. 50 (6): 6.08–6.08. 2009-12-01. Bibcode:2009A&G....50f...8.. doi:10.1111/j.1468-4004.2009.50604_16.x. ISSN 1366-8781.
  28. ↑ "Dr Hiranya Peiris - Research Councils UK". www.rcuk.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  29. ↑ "Kavli Frontiers of Science Alumni". National Academy of Sciences.
  30. ↑ "Breakthrough Prize – Fundamental Physics Laureates – Norman Jarosik and the WMAP Science Team". breakthroughprize.org. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  31. ↑ "Professor Hiranya Peiris shares Breakthrough Prize for early universe mapping". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  32. ↑ "Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)". map.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  33. ↑ Massey, Robert. "RAS Vice-President Professor Hiranya Peiris shares Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics". www.ras.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
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