Dr. Jeremy Heyl appointed head, Physics and Astronomy
December 14, 2023
Dr. Jeremy Heyl, a leading expert on the dynamics of neutron stars and black holes, has been appointed head of UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. His term begins January 1, 2024.
The department is one of the largest and most diverse physics and astronomy units in Canada, teaching approximately 250 dedicated undergraduate students, 240 engineering physics students, and more than 3,000 first-year students in other UBC programs. Research in the unit—consistently ranked in the top two in Canada—spans applied physics, astronomy, astrophysics, optics, biophysics, condensed matter, cosmology, gravity, medical physics, nuclear physics, particle physics, and string theory.
“This search has been an excellent opportunity to learn even more about a very strong department,” said Dean of Science, Dr. Meigan Aronson. “I want to sincerely thank everyone who participated in this search for their very thoughtful comments on the direction of the department, and on the vision Jeremy shared with us.”
“My thanks as well to Colin Gay for his exceptional service as head over the past ten years. He’s been a steadfast advocate for the department and its people. He has been supportive of the innovation and care that the department brings to its teaching and mentorship—the renovated Hebb building provides a showplace where students can use their minds and hands to explore physics. It’s been my privilege to serve with him, and I wish him the very best as he returns to the faculty.”
Dr. Heyl—who served as Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Neutron Stars and Black Holes from 2003 to 2013—focuses on high-energy astrophysics and understanding extreme astrophysical phenomena. That includes white dwarfs, black holes and neutron stars, galaxy formation, mergers and evolution, and the properties of materials in ultra-strong magnetic fields. His recent work has included leveraging James Webb Space Telescope data to study stars approximately 12,000 light-years away and searching for ancient planetary systems. Dr. Heyl has published nearly 300 research papers.
In addition to holding the CRC, he has been a Chandra Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, National Science Foundation graduate fellow, Marshall scholar, Goldwater scholar, and Watson scholar. Dr. Heyl earned his doctoral degree at the University of California at Santa Cruz in astronomy and astrophysics.
As an educator, Dr. Heyl has developed and delivered innovative and engaging UBC courses on physics and astronomy for undergraduate and graduate students—including one of the department’s classes for non-science majors interested in astronomy.
As head, Dr. Heyl will focus on advancing the department as a leader in physics and astronomy research and on fostering excellence in education while growing a culture of innovation, inclusion and collaboration.
The Physics and Astronomy head search committee consisted of Dr. Alison Lister, Dr. Stefan Reinsberg, Dr. Jess McIver, Dr. James Charbonneau, Dr. Navin Ramankutty, Mladen Bumbulovic, Myles Osenton, and Raelyn Sullivan.
