Photo credit: www.franceslitman.com
COVER STORY
Dr. Stéphanie Côté:
Star-Gazing Made Easy!
With Val Wilson
D
r. Stéphanie Côté
embraces her work
with passion and a
ready sense of humour.
One of her myriad talents
is the ability to enlighten
captivated lay audiences
about activities in the
heavens above!
The Scrivener: Stéphanie, please tell us
about your family of origin in Quebec.
Stéphanie: I was born in Montreal
and grew up in Outremont, a very nice
neighbourhood of Montreal, full of trees
and parks. I come from a large family. I
was the fourth of six children, so there
was always a lot going on. Always a lot of
laughter! My parents were both medical
doctors—although my mother stopped
working after a few kids—so they valued
education very much. I knew very young
that I would go to university to study
science. All my brothers and sisters went to
university, too. My father always read a lot,
so the house was filled with hundreds and
hundreds of books everywhere.
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And as soon as I could read, I wanted
to read them all. I went to school to College
Stanislas, a private French school just a few
minutes walk from where we lived.
This school had been a boys-only
school that had just started accepting girls;
we were only about 15 percent girls in
my grade and the rest of the school was
all boys. This turned out to be very good
preparation for my university Physics class,
which was barely 15 percent girls when I
started. By that time I was really used to
being surrounded by boys!
I knew very young that
I would go to university to
study science.
The Scrivener: What was your first job?
Stéphanie: When I was around 12 years
old, I started as a papergirl, delivering
newspapers to the three streets around
ours. But soon I added more runs and was
doing more than a dozen streets. I had
to get up so early that it was still dark. I
still remember fondly those long walks at
dawn. I still love to take long walks in the
city at night, when it’s silent and the streets
belong to cats.
Then when I was about 15 and all the
way until university, I was giving violin
The Scrivener
lessons to beginners. I had been playing
violin since I was 8 years old and by that
time, I had a Laureat es Musique. Not
sure what I learned from that experience.
Patience, I think!
I also worked many Summers in a
café on the interesting St. Denis street in
downtown Montreal. It gave me an early
appreciation of the colourful urban zoo.
My first “real” job in science was as a
Summer student after a year into my BSc
in Physics at University of Montreal. I was
delighted to get a job with an Astronomy
professor. He gave me the tapes with the
data I had to work on, then promptly went
away on conference trips and observing runs
for a month. That taught me early on in my
career how to be very independent in my
research and sort out things by myself!
The Scrivener: Why did you choose to
become an astronomer?
Stéphanie: I am now an Astronomer at
the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, of
the National Research Council of Canada.
As far back as I can remember, I was
interested in science. Even before I could
read, my big brother (who has become
an engineer) would tell me about the
universe and space exploration.
When I was about 13, I read a couple
of books, like The First Three Minutes by
Volume 14 Number 3 Fall 2005
Stephen Weinberg and Patience dans l’Azur
by Quebec astronomer Hubert Reeves,
which really got me hooked on astronomy.
By the time I entered university, however,
I was really worried about job prospects so
I thought that after my BSc in Physics, I
would do research on fibre optics or solar
energy—something marketable.
But in my first year I took an
astronomy class just for fun. I learned
about dark matter for the first time. That’s
what attracted me to become a research
astronomer. This is what makes up 96
percent of all the universe, but you can’t see
it. All the stars, gas clouds, etc., that we can
observe with our telescopes only account
for 4 percent of the mass.
because my duties are associated with the
twin 8 metre Gemini Telescopes situated in
Hawaii and in Chile, the largest telescopes
in which Canada has a share.
This is still the biggest
mystery in astronomy
these days and has been
for years.
The Scrivener: Where is the Herzberg
institute located?
We know there is dark matter because
we can calculate it from the movements of
stars and gas in galaxies, for example. This
is still the biggest mystery in astronomy
these days and has been for years.
Stéphanie: The Canadian Gemini
Office is part of the Herzberg Institute of
Astrophysics of NRC; it’s located at the
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory on
Observatory Hill about 15 km north from
downtown Victoria. The old 1.8 metre
Plaskett Telescope there is still the largest
one on Canadian soil.
After a Master’s degree in Montreal, a
PhD in Australia, and several post-Doctoral
years of research around the world, I got
a tenure position here in Victoria at the
Herzberg Institute. My official title is now
Canadian Gemini Astronomer. That’s
From up here, we have lovely views
of the ocean, the whole peninsula, the
backdrop of the Olympic mountains, as
well as garry oak forests with lots of deer.
Somehow I eventually got a top-floor
corner office—they are too nice to me.
The Institute manages all major
Canadian telescopes—optical,
submillimetre, and radio—for Canadian
astronomers and builds top-notch
instruments for these telescopes. My
daily tasks are to pursue my own research
and, as the Gemini Astronomer, to help
Canadian Astronomers all across the
country to use the Gemini Telescopes. This
means providing them all the technical
information they need on the telescopes
and instruments, helping them prepare
their program for the observing run, and
advising them for their data reduction.
Part of my job is to raise public
awareness about Gemini through various
public outreach activities.
The Scrivener: Did you have a mentor
during your career? Are you a mentor
yourself?
Stéphanie: I was extremely lucky to
have as thesis supervisors two wonderful
mentors, Dr. Claude Carignan from
Université de Montréal for my Master’s
thesis and Professor Ken Freeman from
Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia
for my PhD thesis. I was very shy as a
young student and they were great to give
me confidence.
Stéphanie and Domenico rest while hiking to the hot springs near Tofino, BC.
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In any case, I can serve as
an example of a survivor
in the field to them, “If
she can do it, I can, too.”
can serve as an example of a survivor in the
field to them, “If she can do it, I can, too.”
The Scrivener: What input and
involvement do you have on the national
and international scene in your field?
Stéphanie: There are only about 150
professional astronomers in Canada so
it is not too difficult to “get noticed” on
the national scene. Similarly, there are
not that many researchers in any given
specialized field of astronomical research
internationally.
The Trifid Nebula, taken with Gemini for Ingrid Braul, 13 years old, of Vancouver, winner of
a contest organized by the Canadian Gemini Office
Both nationally and internationally,
I’ve participated in a large number of
committees, selecting proposals for
telescope time, research Grants, and
awards. Sometimes it’s a lot of work, but
it can be really stimulating to have this
chance to see the most exciting projects
being proposed or to read the best PhD
theses written in Canada for an award, for
example.
Sometimes famous astronomers
can have, how should I say, special
personalities. But these two were really
great guys to hang around with. Mentors
are important because you need to learn
not only astronomy, but also how to be an
astronomer.
For a long time I didn’t think I
needed to be a mentor. After all I had
decided to study astronomy without ever
meeting a female scientist. But all my
visits to school classes and tour groups
have proved me wrong. It doesn’t take
long to see the curiosity of the girls in the
group to be awakened.
Several have told me they had always
loved science but somehow never had
thought before of becoming scientists.
I have also supervised several Summer
students who always get in touch with
me when they need to make important
decisions on their careers, so I guess they see
me as some sort of mentor. In any case, I
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Stéphanie in front of a scale model of the Gemini 8 metre telescope
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At the international level, I’ve had
the chance to give a lot of input on the
scientific and operational direction of
the Gemini Telescopes. The decisions
are made through various committees
with representatives from all the partner
countries with a share in the telescopes—
seven in total—the US and UK being
the main partners. As the Canadian
representative, I’ve participated in all the
decisions on the major future scientific
directions of the telescopes for the next
decade, for example, in the selection of the
future multi-million-dollar instruments to
be built.
The Scrivener: What do you like best
about your work?
Stéphanie: Doing research is an extremely
rewarding experience. Your work becomes
an intense and passionate creative pursuit
and the moments of successful discoveries
are simply thrilling. And research in
astronomy is especially rewarding because,
in many other fields, the research groups
are so huge that you would rarely be able to
make the decisions.
more women astronomers. Perhaps
the field will see the same amazing
transformation that happened to Notaries
Public in BC, who were male-dominated
20 years ago and whose membership is
now around 60 percent women.
My biggest research
breakthrough so far
has been the discovery
of several new dwarf
galaxies.
My biggest research breakthrough so
far has been the discovery of several new
dwarf galaxies. Our Milky Way Galaxy is
part of a group of over 30 galaxies called
the Local Group. Most of these galaxies are
dwarf galaxies, typically 10 times smaller
than the Milky Way.
I guessed that it was probably typical
of other groups of galaxies to have lots
of dwarf galaxies, so I searched in the
two nearest groups of galaxies, using
a combination of optical and radio
observations. Indeed I discovered about
three dozen dwarf galaxies in there.
Then I studied the dark matter in
these dwarf galaxies. It turned out that
dwarf galaxies have much more dark matter
than normal galaxies. Dwarf galaxies are
like little espresso cups of dark matter,
while our galaxy would be more like a
cappuccino, with a 50-50 mix of luminous
and dark matter.
The Scrivener: How do you feel you are
making a difference now? What would
you like to achieve in your profession in
the future?
Stéphanie: When serving on Grant
committees, for example, I see myself as
more objective in my decisions, not only
as a minority, but also because I am of the
new generation of astronomers who are
comfortable at many wavelengths. I’ve
worked not only in optical but also infrared,
submillimetre, radio, ultraviolet, etc.
In astronomy you think of an idea,
apply to get telescope time, then work on
the data and write the paper all on your own
if you wish—most of the time in a small
team where you can decide on the directions
to explore and to shape the project as you
wish. Also astronomy—with all the new
telescopes and instruments that have come
up and are coming up soon—is a field really
going through exciting times now.
The Scrivener: What is your greatest
career achievement so far?
Stéphanie: My career achievements? I
was the first woman to be hired as a staff
astronomer at the Herzberg Institute of
Astrophysics since its creation more than
30 years ago—I always say that one first,
because nobody claps in the room if I tell
about my greatest research achievements
instead.
There are now at least 25 percent
women in the Physics and Astronomy
undergraduate programs in Canadian
universities, so things are changing.
Hopefully in the future, there’ll be many
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The star-forming region RY Tau, taken with Gemini, for Gilbert St-Onge, an amateur
astronomer from Dorval, Quebec, winner of a contest organized for amateur astronomers all
across Canada
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In the old days, someone was purely an optical astronomer or
just a radio astronomer. I look at the science and less at the people or
techniques to achieve the goals.
As the Canadian Gemini Astronomer, I am the one in charge of
communicating the complexities of the telescopes and instruments to
Canadian astronomers. Knowing the telescopes’ capabilities, I advise them
on how best to achieve their science goals. The astronomers most of the
time will not be going themselves to the telescopes in Hawaii or Chile.
Instead their data are taken into what we call “queue-observing”
mode, where a Gemini staff astronomer will decide the optimal program
to observe, after checking the weather conditions of the night. This is
more efficient, because some programs need extra-good image quality—
less distortion through the atmosphere—and others need cloudless skies.
In the past, you relied on luck when you showed up at the telescope.
The programs must be described in every detail in a way that can
be ingested by the telescope. That’s where I come in. I make sure the
astronomers’ vision of what they want to achieve is translated in clear
commands to the telescope, then that information is sent to Hawaii and
Chile. It is the first time that we are operating optical telescopes in this
way in Canada.
The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, which houses the
Plaskett Telescope
I am the interface between the researchers and their experiment.
You have to be able to communicate complex notions and potentially
confusing material to astronomers and students and be able to put
yourself into their head to understand clearly what they are trying to do.
Otherwise this new mode of operating would not work.
At a press conference for a contest Stéphanie organized for a
Canadian amateur astronomer to win 1 hour of Gemini time:
Gilbert St-Onge (at left) with his winning image of RY Tau,
Stéphanie, and famous Canadian Astronomer René Racine of
Montreal
I guess the goal of every researcher is to discover something with
important implications in your field that is entirely new and unexpected
or perhaps that contradicts an existing theory—something that would
have a major impact in the field. But I am quite happy to also humbly
bring small pieces to the puzzle that will eventually build up to
something new—as long as I feel it has been useful in the big picture.
The Scrivener: Are you currently involved in community service?
Stéphanie: I’m afraid that like many researchers, my time outside work
is very limited, so I haven’t been very active in community services for
years. But I’ve recently been approached by the local chapter of Zonta
and I’m thinking about joining. This is a worldwide organization
working to advance the legal, political, economic, educational, health,
and professional status of women.
While I lived in Australia during my PhD studies, I was part of a
bushfire volunteer team. Mount Stromlo Observatory is in the outback
in the outskirts of Canberra, surrounded by gum forests, so we needed
to have our own emergency team; we had our own fire truck. We had
full training from firefighters, including how to rescue people from
houses on fire.
The Plaskett Telescope
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I participated in several control burns all around New South Wales.
We even won a state-wide bushfire team competition for being the
“best prepared team.” We also won the “best presented team” award
and I suspect it had to do with the fact that we were the only team with
a woman—although I doubt I looked that sexy in the yellow overalls,
wearing the oxygen mask. Sadly Mount Stromlo Observatory did burn
out a few years ago.
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The Scrivener: What are your special
interests and hobbies? Do you have
pets?
Stéphanie: I love tango dancing and my
boyfriend Domenico enjoys ballroom
dancing, too, so we go dancing every week.
We don’t like being too formal about it
and most of the time we make up our
own creative steps; we’re mostly fooling
around and having fun. We’re both “city
slickers”—he’s also from Montreal—so we
are always checking out movies, plays, jazz
clubs, opera, new restaurants—whatever is
happening in town.
We also like hiking and we do long
walks along the beaches or waterfront in or
around Victoria—it sounds cliché but we
really do this, several times a week—and
hand-in-hand, of course. I read a lot, too,
my pet interest being archaeology and early
human evolution, but my readings are
rather eclectic. I read half-a-dozen books at
the same time, from French novels to old
Greek philosophy, with some social critic
essays in between.
For years I didn’t have pets at home
because I was travelling so much for
meetings, conferences, or observing
runs. Almost every month I had a trip
somewhere. But when Domenico moved in
with me, he brought his two budgies. They
are happily chirping away the whole day
long, just like us.
The Scrivener: What is most important
to you in life?
Stéphanie: Hmmm. I guess that’s the part
where we’re supposed to say “my family”? I
was so busy with my work and having fun
that I managed to escape getting married
and having children. I am happy to report
I am now successfully recovering from
workaholism and I love to spend quality
time with my boyfriend.
I am very much a believer of the
Here and Now. The most important thing
for me is to be happy here and now, try
as much as possible to make happy the
people around me that I love, and thank
life every day for all I’ve been lucky to
enjoy so far. ▲
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