Projects
Evolution of dwarf galaxies: a stellar populations perspective Ghent University
Though Big Data has become common in many domains nowadays, the challenges to develop efficient and automated mining of the ever increasing data sets by new generations of data scientists are eminent. These challenges span wide swathes of society, business and research. Astronomers with their high-tech observatories are historically at the forefront of this field, but obviously, the impact in e.g. commercial applications, security, ...
SUrvey Network for Deep Imaging Analysis and Learning - BOF co-financing H20 ITN SUNDIAL (Prof. Sven De Rijcke) Ghent University
Though Big Data has become common in many domains nowadays, the challenges to develop efficient and automated mining of the ever increasing data sets by new generations of data scientists are eminent. These challenges span wide swathes of society, business and research. Astronomers with their high-tech observatories are historically at the forefront of this field, but obviously, the impact in e.g. commercial applications, security, ...
3D dust and gas radiative transfer for modelling galaxy spectral energy distributions Ghent University
Interstellar gas and dust particles have significantly affect the way in which we can perceive galaxies. We want to extend our 3D dust radiative transfer codes with a module that also includes interstellar gas. These state-of-the-art codes, the first of their kind, will be applied to mock galaxies from cosmological hydrodynamics simulations in order to investigate the degree in which gas and dust can hide the true nature of galaxies
Large-scale numerical simulations of kinetic accretion onto supermassive black holes KU Leuven
How do students experience the universe? An investigation into students' conceptions about the universe beyond the solar system. KU Leuven
Astronomy is a 'gateway science'. It is attractive because of the many beautiful images, it is accessible because everyone can look at the night sky and it is wonderful because of the extreme phenomena, enormous distances and times. Children do come into contact with astronomy several times throughout their childhood, both inside and outside school. Despite all that contact, the literature shows that children (as well as adults) have various ...
Collisional excitation of complex organic molecules in the interstellar medium KU Leuven
Ideas and mental models of students (grades 11-12) regarding the universe outside of our solar system. KU Leuven
Massive star asteroseismology with K2 and TESS KU Leuven
Stars born with more than eight times the mass of the Sun contribute significantly to the energetic and chemical evolution of galaxies. Born with convective cores in which they produce new elements through consecutive nuclear fusion cycles, they ultimately collapse leading to potential supernovae and compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes. During the course of their life they are affected by stellar winds, possible binary ...
Mass loss in the lives and deaths of massive stars KU Leuven
Across our Universe, the dynamics and chemical evolution of galaxies like the Milky Way are primarily controlled by the lives and deaths of stars with masses many times that of the Sun. But the evolution of these massive stars is, in turn, highly regulated by the huge amounts of mass lost from their surfaces, by means of powerful starlight-driven winds. These stellar winds critically determine how such massive stars evolve through the ...