QUB researcher wins star prizes

Dr Stephen Smartt has received two major research awards

A young Queen's University astronomy researcher, who has just returned to NI after collecting a prestigious award, has received a second accolade.

Dr Stephen Smartt has been awarded the £50,000 Philip Leverhulme prize for his research into supernovae.

Earlier this year, he was one of two UK astronomers to receive the European Young Investigator (EURYI) award.

The five-year award is worth about £827,000 and is given to only 25 researchers around the world.

A special ceremony for all of the 2005 EURYI Award winners was held on 9 November in Budapest before the beginning of the World Science Forum in the city.

The Philip Leverhulme prize is awarded to people under 36 who have excelled in their field, and whose best years are thought still to come.

Each year approximately 25 awards are given to individuals in five selected subject areas.

Dr Smartt was one of six astronomy and astrophysics researchers to receive the prize.

A supernova is the explosion that signals the end of a star's life creating heavier elements such as oxygen and iron and dispersing them through space.

There have only been four cases in the world where astronomers have identified what a star looked like before the supernova occurred.

Dr Smartt confirmed three of those examples.

He said he felt very honoured and grateful to receive both prizes because they would allow him to build a leading group at Queen's.