Morgantown, WV — Professor Duncan Lorimer FRS, an astrophysicist renowned for his groundbreaking work in pulsars and fast radio bursts (FRBs), is set to embark on a journey to India. As announced by the Royal Society, Lorimer has been awarded a Yusuf Hamied Visiting Fellowship. He will bring a wealth of knowledge about his pioneering work in the field of transient radio phenomena to several key scientific institutions across the country.
The fellowship program was launched by the Royal Society in 2017 with support from the Yusuf and Farida Hamied Foundation. It promotes excellence in science by bringing the Indian and international scientific communities together. Scientists supported by the Fellowship make visits to partner organizations in India, building and strengthening relationships between their research teams and sharing expertise on topics of vital importance. For Lorimer, the fellowship represents a powerful bridge connecting his impactful work at West Virginia University (WVU) with the rich intellectual heritage and cutting-edge research of scientific institutions in India.
The radio astronomy community has grown significantly in terms of research and discovery in the areas of FRBs and pulsars. FRBs are brief and highly energetic radio pulses originating from currently unknown sources at cosmological distances, discovered by Lorimer’s research group in 2007. Pulsars are rapidly rotating and highly magnetized neutron stars discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell FRS and Anthony Hewish FRS in 1967. Studies of both FRBs and pulsars have a wealth of applications ranging from fundamental physics to cosmology, and the learned skills are transferable to other careers including in data science and artificial intelligence. However, the future of FRB and pulsar research depends heavily on the inspiration and training of the next generation of researchers.
To further these efforts, and foster connections with Indian researchers, Lorimer’s itinerary will include stops at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the National Center for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) and the Giant Metrewave Telescope (GMRT), the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, the Ooty Radio Telescope, and the Cochin University of Science and Technology. His visit will involve a range of activities: delivering public lectures on the discovery of FRBs, presenting scientific colloquia on the use of pulsars and FRBs for a cosmic census of neutron star populations, offering master classes on current pulsar and FRB search techniques, and attending collaborative workshops at TIFR and NCRA.
By traveling to India with the support of the fellowship, Lorimer aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and establish pathways to international research opportunities for Indian students via his connections in the UK, Europe, USA, and Australia. The impact of the trip will be assessed by longitudinally surveying consenting students annually.
Of the fellowship, Dr. Yusuf Hamied FRS said: “Collaboration and knowledge sharing between researchers and innovators is an integral part of scientific innovation. The Yusuf and Farida Hamied foundation is proud to continue its partnership with the Royal Society to build a firm connection between the UK and India’s science communities. Building such relationships across borders is fundamental to scientific advancement and vital to address global scientific challenges.”
Looking forward to the opportunity, Lorimer said: “This trip represents my first visit to India and is an amazing opportunity to inspire future generations of students and make them aware of research opportunities in both pulsars and FRBs at institutions worldwide, including WVU.”