Olivier Hernandez

Master’s degree, Physics, University of Montreal Engineering degree, École centrale de Marseille

Olivier Hernandez, Director of the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, is an astrophysicist and an instrumentation, galaxy and exoplanet expert. Olivier Hernandez received an engineering degree from the École centrale de Marseille and a master’s degree in physics from the University of Montreal. He also has a PhD in astrophysics on the dynamics of galaxies. He was a co-founder and coordinator of iREx, director of operations at the Mont-Mégantic Observatory and lecturer at the University of Montreal. His key fields of research are the kinematics and dynamics of barred spiral galaxies and the development of high-tech astronomical instrumentation for the study of galaxies, and the detection and characterization of exoplanets. As the director of projects at the Mont-Mégantic Observatory, he has coordinated work in Montreal on SPIRou and NIRPS. They are international projects to develop two instruments designed to detect rocky planets. He is also the Montreal coordinator for the construction of FGS/NIRISS, which will be one of four scientific instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope. He is currently the director of the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium at Space for Life, where he is responsible for research and ecological transition. He is also a founder of the equality, diversity and inclusion committee at Space for Life. He is still an associate researcher at iREx.

Please note that the CSA acts solely as an intermediary to provide the public with access to the contact information of experts and organizations listed on the Canadian Space Ambassadors page. The CSA does not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of the information provided therein, which remains at all times the responsibility of the originating experts and organizations. The CSA also takes no responsibility for the availability of the Canadian Space Ambassadors, the content of their presentations, or the coordination of travel or events. The Government of Canada offers no guarantee and assumes no responsibility regarding the accuracy, relevance or reliability of the content of external sites, nor does it express approval of these sites or their content. More details about the space Ambassadors roles and responsibilities.