Summary

Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Germany, in the group of Fabian Schneider. My activities include conducting research on the physics of massive single and binary stars and the formation of black holes and supernovae, co-advising and mentoring students, organizing scientific meetings, and participating in outreach activities, including leading the project Habitable. I am committed to promoting an inclusive, diverse, and safe work environment and more sustainable practices in the times of climate crisis. Outside of work, I enjoy sports, in particular running and cycling, spending time with friends and family, and noticing the natural beauty of this world.

I completed my PhD at the Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in the BinCosmos group led by Selma de Mink, with Stephen Justham as a co-advisor.

My PhD work focused on understanding the late-time evolution, death, and after-life of “binary-stripped stars”, massive stars that have lost their outer layers due to interactions in binary systems. To this end, I performed numerical simulations with MESA and SNEC. I am also interested in developing computing tools for astrophysics. Tools I have developed or am currently developing include a real-time monitor of the activity of Be X-ray binaries, and TULIPS, the Tool for Understanding the Lives, Interiors, and Physics of Stars. Learn more about these in the computing tools section.

Before I began my PhD, I completed a Bachelor of Science and then a Master of Science degree in physics at the University of Tübingen, Germany. I specialized in the field of high energy astrophysics and focused on understanding the properties of accreting X-ray pulsars and Be X-ray binaries. I completed my Bachelor thesis at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), in Madrid, Spain, during a three months traineeship. During my Master’s thesis, I had the privilege to visit the MAXI team laboratory in RIKEN, Wako-shi, Japan, for an extended stay of 9 months.

For my research projects, I had the opportunity to work at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan in Tokyo, Japan (2019), at the Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik in Tübingen, Germany (2013-2017), at RIKEN, near Tokyo, Japan (2016), and at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Madrid, Spain (Summers 2014 and 2015).