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Posted: Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012 9:02 AM HST

Hilo Scientist wins $500,000 award

By Ken Hupp - 67AM KPUA News

A Hilo scientist has been named one of 23 recipients of an annual $500,000 “genius grant” from the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. 36-year old Olivier Guyon is an optical physicist and astronomer, who divides his time between the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea and the University of Arizona, where he works with NASA in preparation for space missions. The French-born scientist said the grant will allow him to continue his life’s work of detecting hard-to-spot planets orbiting around stars. Guyon was previously earned the 2003 Daniel Guinier Award (Young Researcher) from the French Society of Physics and the 2006 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.