The American Physical Society (APS) has awarded the Henry Primakoff Award for Early-Career Particle Physics to Elena Pinetti, Flatiron Research Fellow with the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) at the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute in New York City. Pinetti is one of Perimeter Institute’s 2024 Emmy Noether Visiting Postdoctoral Fellows.
The APS Henry Primakoff Award for Early-Career Particle Physics recognizes outstanding contributions made by early-career physicists and helps promote the careers of exceptionally promising physicists.
Pinetti was chosen for “original ideas and innovative research in the study of particle dark matter, compact astrophysical objects, high energy astrophysical sources, and cosmic radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum." Her work sits at the boundary between particle physics and cosmology, and she uses data from the James Webb Space Telescope to search for dark matter.
“I’m deeply honored to receive the Henry Primakoff Award of the American Physical Society,” says Pinetti. “My work aims to bridge particle physics, cosmology, and astrophysics to explore the dark universe beyond current frontiers. This recognition reinforces the importance of pursuing creative, cross-disciplinary paths toward understanding fundamental questions about the cosmos. I’m deeply grateful to my collaborators, mentors, and the institutions that have supported this work.”
“My time at Perimeter Institute has been especially inspiring—the stimulating discussions and exchange of ideas with colleagues broadened my perspective, and I look forward to continuing to develop new research directions and pushing the frontiers of fundamental physics.
Neal Dalal, Perimeter Institute research faculty, says the award is well deserved. “Elena’s work has been especially innovative in probing physics beyond the Standard Model. Thinking outside traditional boxes, she has devised new methods to exploit astronomical data sets and tools like the James Webb Space Telescope, that were not originally designed or intended for studies of particle physics.”
“As astronomy enters the era of big datasets, this is exactly the kind of work that will be crucial for pushing the envelope in fundamental physics.”
The Simons Emmy Noether Fellow Program is made possible by the Simons Foundation. The program supports and encourages early- and mid-career women and other under-represented groups in physics by removing teaching and administrative duties, allowing the fellows to focus intensively on research during a critical point of their career.
The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance physics by fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and global community dedicated to science and society. APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and around the world.
For more information about the Henry Primakoff Award for Early-Career Particle Physics, visit the APS website.
About PI
Perimeter Institute is the world’s largest research hub devoted to theoretical physics. The independent Institute was founded in 1999 to foster breakthroughs in the fundamental understanding of our universe, from the smallest particles to the entire cosmos. Research at Perimeter is motivated by the understanding that fundamental science advances human knowledge and catalyzes innovation, and that today’s theoretical physics is tomorrow’s technology. Located in the Region of Waterloo, the not-for-profit Institute is a unique public-private endeavour, including the Governments of Ontario and Canada, that enables cutting-edge research, trains the next generation of scientific pioneers, and shares the power of physics through award-winning educational outreach and public engagement.
