University Of Manchester Celebrates Two Prestigious Astronomy Awards

Study in UK: The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has granted Astronomy Awards to the researchers at the University Of Manchester.

Cosmologists Steve Cunnington and Dr Michael Keith of the University Of Manchester have been awarded prestigious Astronomy awards.

Dr Keith is part of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) which is a multinational European collaboration between scientists from more than ten 10 institutes.

"I am very proud of the work we have done as part of this decades long project, and it’s fantastic to see this reflected with the RAS award. The award not only highlights the incredible science results, but also the supportive and diverse nature of the team that made it happen," commented Dr Michael Keith.

EPTA unites collaborators from different backgrounds and nationalities and supports early career researchers.

Dr Steve Cunnington has won the Early Career Award for early achievement in astronomy. In 2022, he started working at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. His research is on mapping the Universe’s structure across billions of light years using radio telescopes.

Dr Cunnington said, “I am very passionate about my research and am thrilled that the Royal Astronomical Society is highlighting it. There is a long list of inspirational scientists who have won this award in previous years, and I see it as a challenge to continue the prestigious legacy.”

“I am involved in the preparations for the SKA Observatory (SKAO), set to be the largest radio telescope ever constructed. The SKAO precursor, MeerKAT, is already operational and was used to validate our novel mapping technique. We are now making further progress with MeerKAT mapping volumes of the Universe hundreds of times larger than before," he added.

RAS gives these awards every year to recognize outstanding achievements in the field of geophysics and astronomy. It recognizes the winners through medals, prizes and awards.

Researchers To Identify Biological Mechanisms Affecting Humans, Animals

The scientists at the University of Manchester are working to identify the biological mechanisms through which magnetic forces affect animals. The team also includes professors from the University of Leicester and Oxford Universities.

Professor Ezio Rosato, from Leicester’s Department of Genetics, Genomes and Cancer Sciences, said, “We and others have shown that a blue-light sensing protein called Cryptochrome (CRY) is at the heart of magnetoreception. However, we surprisingly observed that only a short stretch at the end of CRY is absolutely required to mediate a biological response to magnetic fields. This is significant because it shows that animals might detect magnetic fields via a variety of mechanisms. Professor Richard Baines from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester added:, “This award consolidates our earlier work because by understanding how the short CRY fragment functions, we will be able to move closer towards understanding the fundamental mechanisms of magnetoreception.”

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