Dr. Alex Zucca came to SFU from Trieste, Italy's top institution for theoretical physics where he obtained his Master's in Theoretical Physics studying how neutrinos affect galaxy clustering in extensions of Einstein's general relativity theory. Zucca graduated with top honours and was awarded the 2014 Giorgieri Award for his thesis.

During Alex's time at SFU, he published numerous papers in scholarly journals and was invited to present his work at conferences in Canada, Netherlands and France. He was also invited on extended research visits to the Lorentz Institute in Leiden, the Laboratory for AstroParticle and Cosmology in Paris, and the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation in Portsmouth.

As a member of the Cosmology group working on modelling cosmological observables in various models of Physics, Zucca developed of two widely used tools to test modified-gravity models and primordial magnetic fields with cosmological data. His expertise in programming and numerical simulations landed him a joint postdoctoral position at SFU and D-Wave Systems where he worked on benchmarking current quantum computers.

Zucca’s supervisor, Dr. Levon Pogosian, describes the impact Alex has had on the Faculty of Science. "Alex's PhD work has influenced and aided developments in our field and the numerical tools he developed will continue to benefit the cosmological community for years to come. His motivation, genuine enthusiasm for science and work ethic were contagious and had a highly positive impact on the department and the university."

Says Zucca, “I am delighted to receive this award. It concludes in the best way the incredible time I had at SFU. In the cosmology group I found a new family far from home that helped me and supported me during my time there.  My supervisor was the best one could ask for. He motivated and gave me many opportunities to work with the best researchers in the field.”

Dr. Alex Zucca is currently working at D-Wave systems as an algorithm researcher.