Gregory Sivakoff

Gregory Sivakoff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Science. He holds a PhD from the University of Virginia (2006), along with MSc degrees from the University of Manchester (2001) and the University of Virginia (2003), and a BSc/BA from Brandeis University (2000). His academic career includes roles as a Postdoctoral Researcher at The Ohio State University (2006–2008), Research Associate at the University of Virginia (2008–2011), and Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta (2011–2017) before becoming Associate Professor in 2017. He also serves as the Associate Chair of Research (Physics) since 2018.

Education:

• BSc/BA, Brandeis University, USA (2000)
• MSc, University of Manchester, UK (2001)
• MSc, University of Virginia, USA (2003)
• PhD, University of Virginia, USA (2006)

Research Interests: Sivakoff’s work centers on multi-wavelength studies of compact objects such as white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes—both stellar-mass and supermassive. He investigates transient phenomena, including jet emission and accretion processes, and explores the transient radio-through-sub-mm Universe. Additional interests span globular clusters, intergalactic medium dynamics, and data mining. He is actively involved in Education & Public Outreach to engage broader audiences in astronomy.

Publications Trends: His recent work emphasizes radio jet dynamics in black hole systems, the behavior of neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries, and the application of advanced observational techniques (e.g., MeerKAT, SKA Pathfinder) to study transient events. Collaborative projects like the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VAST) and MAVERIC survey highlight his focus on large-scale data-driven astrophysics and interdisciplinary methods, including citizen science and machine learning.

Labs/Teams: Sivakoff co-leads the Transients Science Working Group for the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VAST) and participates in the MAVERIC survey. These roles underscore his engagement in cutting-edge radio astronomy collaborations and efforts to maximize the scientific impact of large-scale sky surveys.