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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 and am a cat lover!
I speak English, French and Arabic. I love interacting with a diversity of people, and enjoy nature, music and sports.
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).
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Listen to a brief interview with CBC (weekend morning show, Jan 22 2022) discussing supernovae, my journey and passion.
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I especially enjoy interacting with people outside my field, including politicians!
(picture below with Kirsty Duncan, former Minister of Science; courtesy UofM photographer)
....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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