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About me

I am an Astrophysicist originally from Lebanon. I did my high-school at Le Collège des Sœurs des Saints-Cœurs, my undergraduate degree (Physics, pre-med) at the American University of Beirut and my Masters and PhD (Physics) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA). I then did a NASA fellowship at the Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, Maryland), Lab for High-Energy Astrophysics before moving to Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) to jump-start an Astrophysics Program at the University of Manitoba, the sole PhD granting institution in the Province. I held the NSERC UFA fellowship then a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Supernova (Remnants) Astrophysics, and have most recently been awarded a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Extreme Astrophysics.
 
I am fascinated by extreme objects and phenomena in the Universe - phenomena that are unattainable in any Earth laboratory! These are attributed to neutron stars and magnetars, pulsar wind nebulae, supernova remnants, black holes, microquasars and compact objects mergers. I am also passionate about teaching and interacting with students at all levels.


I'm a mother of two now-teen-agers who managed to convince me to adopt two cats (Caramel and Honey)!   
I speak English, French and Arabic. I love interacting with a diversity of people, and enjoy nature, music and sports.

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Outreach

I am passionate about public outreach, and especially reaching out to youth and under-represented groups to get them excited about science (in general) and Astrophysics (in particular).

Listen to my recent brief interview with CBC (weekend morning show, Jan 22 2022) discussing supernovae, my journey and passion.

I especially enjoy interacting with people outside my field, including politicians!

....partly because Science Matters!

See this article in the Winnipeg Free Press entitled: "Matter matters.

Astrophysicist connects the dots from science 'up there' to a better life 'down here'.

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