UTAS Honours graduate wins prestigious award for her black hole research

The award recognises outstanding research by an Honours or eligible Masters student in Australia.

According to UTAS Associate Professor Stas Shabala, Ms Young's research "explores the distant Universe, a place full of radio galaxies, which emit bursts of intense light from supermassive black hole jets".

"This light, known as synchrotron radiation, is often more than a million times brighter than the sun," Associate Professor Shabala said.

The UTAS professor said studying these galaxies, which are often young, small, and distant, is "incredibly challenging."

He said through her research, Ms Young created a theoretical sample of these radio galaxies, providing a vital tool for astronomical research.

The professor stated her work demonstrates how these galaxies "influence their surroundings by injecting energy and momentum into the gas clouds between stars".

Associate Professor Shabala said, "Ms Young's recognition highlights her exceptional research and reflects the strength and impact of the University of Tasmania's astrophysics program".

Upon winning this year's prize, Sophie Young said winning the Bok Prize was "an incredible honour" and "it still feels quite surreal to be recognised on a national scale".

"I have always been fascinated by space and astronomy, but I'd never really considered studying it further until I had the opportunity to do a summer research project through UTAS that involved learning the basics of supercomputer simulations," Ms Young said.

"This opened my eyes to a completely new area of astrophysics which I barely even knew existed."

Ms Young's award continues a prize-winning tradition at the University of Tasmania.

Her Honours supervisors have also won the Bok Prize: Associate Professor Stas Shabala in 2004 and Dr Ross Turner in 2014.

Dr Turner said Ms Young has "addressed a truly complex astrophysical problem from a theoretical viewpoint and "opened up a new research direction for next-generation telescopes".

"Including the multi-billion-dollar Square Kilometre Array, which will be operating in just a few years in Western Australia and southern Africa," Dr Turner said.

Associate Professor Shabala said Ms Young's work had "advanced our understanding of radio galaxies".

"It also highlights the enduring quality and mentorship within the University's world-class astrophysics program," Associate Professor Shabala said.

He said the university extended its congratulations to Ms Young and "looks forward to her future contributions to the field of astronomy".

This year, Ms Young said she is continuing her black hole research through her PhD and volunteering with the Young Tassie Scientist team.

The Young Tassie Scientist program is hosted through UTAS. During National Science Week, mostly PhD students travel around the state to share knowledge with young schoolchildren and interest them in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

The Bart Bok Prize is awarded annually by the Astronomical Society of Australia to honour outstanding research by an Honours or eligible Masters student in astronomy.

Named after a pioneer of optical astronomy in Australia, the Bok Prize recognises exceptional contributions to understanding the Universe and fosters excellence and innovation among emerging scientists.

The Bok Prize acknowledges recipients for their significant achievements and potential to advance astronomical research.