Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics
The NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics is the leading Canadian centre for astronomy and astrophysics.
History
Named for the Nobel laureate Gerhard Herzberg, it was formed in 1975 as part of the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. The NRC-HIA headquarters were moved to Victoria, British Columbia, in 1995 to the site of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.Facilities
NRC-HIA also operates the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory outside of Penticton, BC and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as well as managing Canadian involvement in the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, Gemini Observatory, James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the Square Kilometre Array, and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, as well as Canada's national astronomy data centre.- The institute is also involved in the development and construction of instruments and telescopes.
- Members of NRC-HIA are currently involved in The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey.
- Members of NRC-HIA are currently involved with Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey.
Plaskett Fellowship
The Plaskett Fellowship is named after John Stanley Plaskett and is awarded to an outstanding, recent doctoral graduate in astrophysics or a closely related discipline. Fellows conduct independent research in a stimulating, collegial environment at the institute in Victoria, BC, Canada. Expertise in observational astrophysics is the norm, but some theoreticians were also among this distinguished group of astronomers. The past Plaskett Fellows are listed below.| Name | Position held | current position |
| Rucinski, Slavek | 1975–77 | Retired; formerly Professor, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Associate Director, David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto |
| Poeckert, Roland | 1977–79 | Unknown |
| Pritchet, Christopher | 1978–81 | Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria |
| Lawrie, David | 1978–80 | Director, Sensing and Exploitation Department, Aerospace Corporation |
| Quintana, Hernán | 1979–81 | Professor, Department of Astronomy, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile |
| Massey, Philip | 1980–83 | Astronomer, Lowell Observatory |
| Mochnacki, Stefan | 1980–82 | Professor, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto |
| Harris, Hugh | 1980–82 | Astronomer, U.S. Naval Observatory |
| Stryker, Linda | 1981–83 | Emeritus Professor, Arizona State University |
| Olszewski, Edward | 1982–84 | Astronomer, Steward Observatory |
| Yee, Howard | 1982–84 | Professor, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto |
| Stetson, Peter | 1983–84 | Principal Research Officer, NRC-HIA |
| Campbell, Bruce | 1983–87 | Financial consultant |
| Smith, Graeme | 1984–86 | Professor, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Lick Observatory |
| Stauffer, John | 1984–86 | Research Scientist, Spitzer Science Centre |
| Welch, Douglas | 1986–88 | Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University |
| Ratnatunga, Kavan | 1986–88 | Senior Research Scientist, Carnegie-Mellon University |
| Westpfahl, David | 1986–88 | Professor, Department of Physics, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology |
| Crabtree, Dennis | 1986–89 | Astronomer, NRC-HIA |
| Durand, Daniel | 1986–89 | Research Council Officer, NRC-HIA |
| Bolte, Michael | 1987–90 | Professor, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Lick Observatory |
| Friel, Eileen | 1988–90 | Executive Officer, Astronomical Sciences, National Science Foundation |
| Pierce, Michael | 1988–91 | Professor, University of Wyoming |
| Ellingson, Erica | 1989–92 | Associate Professor, Astronomy and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder |
| Garnavich, Peter | 1991–94 | Professor, Astrophysics / Cosmology Physics, Notre Dame University |
| Riegler, Michael | 1991–93 | Program Manager, Word Business Unit, Microsoft Corporation |
| Abraham, Roberto | 1991–94 | Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toronto |
| Smecker-Hane, Tammy | 1992–95 | Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, University of California Irvine |
| Côté, Patrick | 1994–97 | Senior Research Officer, NRC-HIA |
| Marzke, Ronald | 1994–97 | Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Francisco State University |
| Courteau, Stéphane | 1996–99 | Professor, Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy, Queen's University |
| Côté, Stéphanie | 1997–99 | Group Leader, Canadian Gemini Office NRC-HIA |
| Lavezzi, Tracey Ellen | 1997–99 | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Barton, Elizabeth | 1999–2001 | Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, University of California Irvine |
| van Zee, Liese | 1999–2001 | Assistant Professor, Astronomy, Indiana University |
| Fulbright, Jon | 1999–2002 | Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University |
| Sawicki, Marcin | 2001–04 | Professor, Astronomy and Physics, Saint Mary's University |
| Fiege, Jason | 2002–04 | Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba |
| Willott, Christopher | 2002–06 | Astronomer, Canadian Astronomy Data Centre, NRC-HIA |
| Johnson, Jennifer | 2002–05 | Assistant Professor, Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University |
| Peng, Eric | 2004–07 | Faculty Research Fellow, Department of Astronomy, Peking University |
| Geha, Marla | 2006–07 | Assistant Professor, Astronomy, Yale University |
| Matthews, Brenda | 2004–08 | Astronomer, Millimetre Astronomy Group, NRC-HIA |
| Onken, Chris | 2005–08 | Deputy Gemini Scientist, Australian Gemini Office |
| Puzia, Thomas H. | 2006–10 | Associate Professor, Institute of Astrophysics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile |
| Peng, Chien-Yi | 2007–10 | Scientific Programmer, Giant Magellan Telescope |
| Schnee, Scott | 2009–2010 | Assistant Scientist, National Radio Astronomy Observatory |
| McConnachie, Alan | 2008–11 | Instrumentation Scientist, NRC-HIA |
| Mann, Rita | 2010–present | Current Fellow, NRC-HIA |
| Fraser, Wesley | 2011–present | Current Fellow, NRC-HIA |