Hi! I’m an astrophysicist working to improve our knowledge of stars.

What do I do? I am a postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden, working on a machine-learning pipeline to characterise the M dwarfs that will be observed during the upcoming PLATO mission, which aims to detect Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars. I also measure the fundamental properties of solar-type eclipsing binary stars, building a sample of very accurately-measured benchmark stars that will be useful for testing and calibrating stellar models and results from large-scale spectroscopic surveys. When I’m not doing research, I volunteer at the International Astronomical Youth Camp, make music and enjoy exploring new places through hiking and photography.

What’s my background? I studied Physics at the University of Warwick, graduating with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Physics degree in 2018. My Masters’ research looked at the interactions between exoplanets and their stars, particularly the X-ray and EUV irradiation and evaporation of the planetary atmospheres. During my PhD studies, I worked with Dr. Pierre Maxted to develop a new method for measuring the fundamental effective temperatures of stars in detached eclipsing binary systems. The first paper in the series describes the method and its application to the well-characterised binary AI Phoenicis. During this time, I began contributing to the PLATO Benchmark Stars group, along with supporting the EBLM and BEBOP projects with observations and scientific input. I also designed and implemented the observation scheduler on the Xamidimura telescopes, which are located at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). After finishing my PhD in late 2022, I moved to the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center (CAMK) in Warsaw, where I was a postdoctoral researcher working with Dr. Dariusz Graczyk and a member of the international Araucaria team working on the cosmic distance scale. I moved to Uppsala University in mid 2024 to work with Dr. Ulrike Heiter on developing and validating the PLATO M dwarf pipeline.