McGill researchers explore big questions about universe

Oct 2012: A research team led by Alex Maloney is among the winners of the New Frontiers in Astronomy and Cosmology International Grant and Essay Competition who will present their winning proposals and essays in a joint conference Oct. 12 and 13 at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The competition, led by Donald G. York, the Horace B. Horton Professor in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, will award more than $4 million in research grants to 20 scientists and more than $200,000 to 21 student essayists worldwide.The amount of the award for the McGill team led by Maloney is $180,000 (U.S.), which will be used to fund postdoctoral researchers and graduate students. Along with his co-investigators at McGill - professors Robert Brandenberger (Physics), Johannes Walcher (Mathematics and Statistics and Physics) and Patrick Hayden (Computer Science) - Maloney will address basic conceptual problems at the interface of quantum physics and cosmology.