European Pulsar Timing Array Wins Two Prestigious Awards

© EPTA

The European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) has received two prestigious awards: the 2024 International Congress of Basic Sciences (ICBS) Frontiers of Science Award in China and the 2025 Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) Group Achievement Award in the UK. These honours recognise the team's innovative work in gravitational wave astronomy through pulsar timing. The EPTA is a collaboration between scientists from over ten European institutions, including ASTRON with its Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope.

"These awards highlight the dedication of the entire EPTA team. Our work has the potential to transform our understanding of black holes and spacetime, and this recognition motivates us to continue advancing gravitational wave science," says Aditya Parthasarathy, Lead Researcher and EPTA and IPTA Steering Committee member.

The EPTA project, part of the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA), uses millisecond pulsars to detect nanoHertz gravitational waves--spacetime ripples caused by massive cosmic events. The ICBS award, shared with other international pulsar timing array collaborations, recognised their pioneering approach to detecting low-frequency gravitational waves that traditional detectors cannot observe.

The RAS Group Achievement Award acknowledged the EPTA's exceptional contributions to pulsar timing and gravitational wave astronomy. "We are excited to continue our work on pulsar timing and gravitational waves and strengthen our first detection," says Gemma Janssen, ASTRON scientist and EPTA steering committee member. ASTRON's contribution to the EPTA was carried out by Gemma Janssen, Aditya Parthasarathy, Emma van der Wateren, Aurélien Chalumeau, and Cees Bassa.