My teaching is mainly focussed on stellar and planetary astrophysics and radiative transfer with an emphasis on connecting fundamental physics to modern astronomical research.

I am currently teaching a Master level course on Star and Planet Formation.

I supervise PhD, MSc and BSc research projects and welcome motivated students interested in stellar physics and spectroscopy.

My research explores how stars can be used to understand the history of our Galaxy and the origin of the chemical elements. Every star preserves a record of the gas cloud from which it formed, encoded in its spectrum. By measuring stellar chemical compositions and physical properties with high precision, we can reconstruct how the Milky Way assembled over billions of years and how successive generations of stars created the elements that make up planets and life.

A major focus of my work is developing more realistic models of stellar atmospheres and the interaction between light and matter. Traditional spectroscopic analyses rely on simplifying assumptions that can introduce systematic errors. My research develops three-dimensional non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (3D non-LTE) models that provide a more physically accurate description of stellar spectra and enable significantly more precise measurements of stellar properties and chemical abundances.

I combine theoretical modelling with observations from large international spectroscopic surveys, including GALAH, Gaia-ESO and 4MOST. These surveys provide spectra for millions of stars across the Milky Way, creating unprecedented opportunities to study Galactic evolution. My group develops automated analysis methods, including machine-learning approaches, that make it possible to apply state-of-the-art stellar models to these large datasets.

The techniques developed in my research are also increasingly important for exoplanet science, where accurate knowledge of the host star is essential for understanding the properties and formation of planetary systems.

My research has been supported by the European Research Council (ERC), the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the European Commission.

Link to my public library on NASA's Astrophysics Data System.