Research Interests:
Star and Planet Formation; Origin and Evolution of Protoplanetary Disks; Exoplanets; Atomic and Molecular Astrophysics; Astrobiology
Education:
2004 Ph.D. Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany, magna cum laude, PhD Advisor : Th. Henning
1999 M.A. in Astronomy, University of Bologna, Italy, summa cum laude with Honors, Thesis Advisors: G. Palumbo, M. Walmsley, P. Caselli
Positions Held:
2022-pres Full Professor, LPL, The University of Arizona
2021-2023 Associate Department Head, LPL, The University of Arizona
2016-2022 Associate Professor, LPL, The University of Arizona
2011-2016 Assistant Professor, LPL, The University of Arizona
2009-2011 Staff Astronomer, Space Telescope Science Institute
2008–2011 Associate Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins University
2004–2008 Research Associate, Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona
2002–2004 Doctoral Fellow of the Max Planck Society, MPIA
2000–2002 Graduate student at the University of Jena, Germany
Awards:
2025 Henry and Phyllis Koffler Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarship/Creative Activity
2024 Blitzer Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Physics and Related Sciences
2024 Premio Circolo della Stampa di Pesaro, Italy
2022-2025 Appointed as Chair of NASA’s ExoPAG Executive Committee
2022 Fellow of the American Astronomical Society
2019 Robert H. Goddard Team Award: LUVOIR STDT
Professional Affiliations: American Astronomical Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science