Hello ladies and gentlemen, I’m Mario Pinto, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. I’m here at McGill University with Victoria Kaspi, winner of the 2016 Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal.

Vicky, it’s a pleasure to be here with you. Congratulations on winning NSERC’s top prize, a well-deserved honour given your impressive research career as an astrophysicist. Astrophysics is a broad discipline, big enough to encompass the universe. What led you to this area of study?

I study neutron stars, which is a rare kind of collapsed stars. Pulsars and magnetars are forms of neutron stars, and they form when massive stars die, end their lives. And part of that process is also what ejects, in a supernova explosion, a matter throughout the galaxy, and that same matter is what ends up making, you know, planets and tables and cameras and things like that. So part of understanding the evolution of stars and the formation of neutron stars is understanding the origin of all matter, even the matter that we’re made out of.

You and your research team have made several major discoveries, including identifying the fastest rotating star and uncovering a rare class of neutron stars. How did you arrive at your moments of discovery?

Once you realize something new and interesting about the universe, you start to think, “Oh, what does this imply?” because, you know, science builds up in layers. And so once you’ve put down a new layer, you can think, “Ah, where am I going with this and where will this take me next?” NSERC has given me the freedom to study in my own style, in my own way, in the way that I’m sure is the best way to make progress in the field. It’s that, it’s the flexibility that enables the scientific discoveries. If you were to clock my hours in my job, it’s many hours. It’s much more than a standard job. But it’s like I’m not working because I love what I do so much.

Finally, you’re the winner of the 2016 Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal. This is NSERC’s highest honour. Could you share a few thoughts on what it means to you to win this award?

Just, I don’t even have the words to convey how I feel about it. I’m profoundly honoured and really deeply touched to have that recognition of the research that my group does. And really, I accept it on behalf of my research group. And also, to be in the same category as some of the past Herzberg award winners, it just blows me away. I’m thrilled and honoured.

It’s been a pleasure to speak with you today, Vicky. Congratulations once again on winning NSERC’s Herzberg prize.

Thank you very much.