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Science & Technology
New RFs 2025 - Space Science Faculty
Research Fellows in Space Science 2025
Jo Ann Egger | Adam J. Finley | Zsofi Igo | Antonio La Marca | Benjamin Man
Cyril Mergny | Ioanna Psaradaki | Maria Edvige Ravasio | Giulia Roccetti | Ciarán Rogers
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Jo Ann Egger
Proposal Title: Modelling the interiors of small exoplanets – from Cheops to Plato
Jo Ann (she/her) obtained her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Physics at the University of Bern in Switzerland, where she also pursued her PhD in the Department for Space Research and Planetary Sciences. As a member of the Cheops science team, her research focused on uncovering the interiors of small exoplanets with radii larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, both through observations and theoretical modelling. To this end, she has developed a neural network-based internal structure modelling framework for such planets.
At ESA, Jo Ann will improve the models that are currently used to interpret the nature of observed exoplanets, with a special focus on the upcoming Plato mission. Even though thousands of exoplanets have already been detected, determining their internal structures remains a major challenge. Since many different interior compositions can match a planet’s observed mass and radius, we have to rely on inference schemes to probabilistically assess their possible internal structures. Jo Ann’s work will help to maximise the scientific return from current and future exoplanet missions such as Cheops, Plato, and Ariel, advancing our understanding of small exoplanets.
Adam J. Finley
Proposal Title: Nesting of magnetic activity on the Sun and other stars
Adam (he/him) studied physics and space science at Lancaster University, UK, and completed his PhD in astrophysics at the University of Exeter, UK. There, he simulated the stellar winds emerging from the million degree atmospheres of Sun-like stars, focusing on how this removes angular momentum and causes stars to spin-down. His first postdoctoral position was at CEA Paris-Saclay, France, investigating our closest star, the Sun, using both numerical models and observations of the solar atmosphere and wind.
Adam’s project aims to understand why the emergence of magnetic field on the Sun and other Sun-like stars clusters together in so called “active nests”, and how this nesting affects the properties of solar flares (energetic eruptions) and the amount of angular momentum being carried away by the solar wind. To do this, Adam will use observations from ESA’s Solar Orbiter to track long-lived regions of magnetic activity and determine their impact on the Sun’s atmosphere and solar wind. His results will inform studies of active nests on other Sun-like stars with ESA’s upcoming Plato mission.
Zsofi Igo
Proposal Title: Black hole accretion and feedback in the low-mass regime
Zsofi (she/her) is a Hungarian astrophysicist, who grew up in Switzerland, and later studied physics at Durham University (UK). During her Master’s degree, she joined ESA as a trainee and used data from XMM-Newton to detect ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) from active galactic nuclei (AGN). She then studied the X-ray background as an ESA Graduate Trainee, before starting her PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Munich, Germany, where she worked on understanding AGN accretion and feedback across the mass scale using eROSITA and LOFAR.
At ESA, Zsofi will explore the, as of yet uncharted, parameter space of AGN in low-mass dwarf galaxies, including elusive intermediate mass black holes. Dwarf galaxies in the local universe are particularly interesting as they are thought to resemble the first galaxies that formed in the early universe. As such, they may hold the key to answer how supermassive black holes got so massive, so fast. Zsofi will use ESA’s XMM-Newton to study the X-ray and multi-wavelength properties of her eROSITA-detected sample, including searching for signs of AGN feedback (such as UFOs) and synergies with other populations of objects like tidal disruption events, or Little Red Dots as found recently by JWST.
Antonio La Marca
Proposal Title: Feeding Active Galactic Nuclei across cosmic environments and times
Antonio (he/him) studied physics at the University of Naples, Italy, where he obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. For his Master’s thesis, he conducted research at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, investigating the observational properties of dwarf galaxies. After a post-graduate fellowship at the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte (Naples, Italy), he started his PhD at SRON (Netherlands Institute for Space Research) and the University of Groningen, focusing on the morphology of galaxies and their connection to supermassive black holes (SMBHs) using large-scale observational surveys. Antonio is a member of the Euclid Consortium and contributes to the FornaX collaboration, an ESA XMM-Newton multi-year heritage programme.
Antonio’s research aims to understand how SMBHs grow and what triggers them to become active, transforming into some of the most energetic phenomena in the Universe—Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). To investigate this, he will analyze data from ESA’s Euclid mission to study the structural properties of a vast sample of galaxies using advanced machine-learning techniques. By combining Euclid observations with data from ESA’s XMM-Newton and Herschel and NASA/ESA/CSA JWST missions, his work aims to unveil the intricate relationship between galaxies and their central black holes, shedding new light on the evolution of these cosmic giants.
Benjamin Man
Proposal Title: BepiColombo, a new era for Hermean surface science and exploration
Benjamin (he/him) studied an MSci in Geology at the University of Birmingham and an MSc in Integrated Petroleum Geoscience at the University of Aberdeen, both in the UK, followed by doctoral studies in Earth Science at Seoul National University, South Korea. He completed his PhD in Planetary Science at the Open University, UK, where his research focused on investigating planet Mercury’s global population of tectonic structures in addition to making the first geological map of Mercury’s Neruda quadrangle (H13), covering ~6.5% of the planet’s surface.
Benjamin’s work at ESA will directly support ESA’s BepiColombo mission, where he will complete the global European quadrangle mapping effort by charting Mercury’s north polar region, Borealis (H01). Benjamin will also continue his tectonic investigations by studying never-before-seen surface features using the highest resolution image data currently available. Benjamin’s research aims to provide the most up-to-date scientific knowledge for an informed BepiColombo science campaign that will commence in 2027, during the tenure of the research fellowship. His work will provide a holistic view of the global distribution of Mercury’s surface geological units and his tectonics work will help refine age calculations in order to constrain the recentness of Mercury’s tectonism.
Cyril Mergny
Proposal Title: Bridging physical processes for our understanding of icy moons
Cyril obtained his Master’s degree in Physics and Chemistry from the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in France. He then pursued a PhD on the study of planetary ices at the Geosciences Paris-Saclay laboratory of Paris-Saclay University.
Cyril's research centers on integrating and coupling various physical phenomena affecting icy surfaces into a multiphysics model called LunaIcy. His project at ESAC aims to provide better modeling of icy moon surfaces through numerical simulations, in order to improve the interpretation of space-based data, particularly for ESA’s Juice mission. To do so, he will combine existing space observations of the Galilean moons with improved surface models to better estimate the thermal, mechanical, and optical properties of these icy surfaces. As the Juice mission will soon provide a large quantity of high quality data on Ganymede and Europa, Cyril's intent is that our modeling efforts also advance to exploit the full potential of this data.
Ioanna Psaradaki
Proposal Title: Exploring the cosmic dust chemistry in the X-rays
Ioanna (she/her) was born and raised in Greece. She earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in Physics from the University of Crete before completing her Ph.D. in Astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute of Space Research (SRON). Her research specializes in Dust X-ray Absorption/Scattering Fine Structure studies and photoionization modeling. Following her Ph.D., she worked as a research fellow at the University of Michigan and later as a Chandra/HETGS Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in USA.
At ESA, Ioanna's research will focus on exploring the properties, chemistry, and size distribution of interstellar dust grains in both diffuse and dense regions of our Galaxy, as well as their influence near Active Galactic Nuclei. Dust is an important part of interstellar medium and plays a crucial role in star- and planet formation. To study interstellar dust, Ioanna will employ high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy, complemented by cutting-edge laboratory measurements. Additionally, she will analyze observations from the newly launched XRISM X-ray mission, along with data from ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra telescopes, to deepen our understanding of cosmic dust and its role in the Universe.
Maria Edvige Ravasio
Proposal Title: Beyond the tip of the iceberg: uncovering the physics of jets via GRB prompt X-ray emission
Maria Edvige (she/her) studied physics in Milan, Italy, and did her PhD in high energy astrophysics at the University of Milano-Bicocca in collaboration with the INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Brera. Her first postdoctoral position was at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, where she joined the transients group of Prof. Jonker and Prof. Levan, working on high energy emission from compact objects and stellar explosions.
Maria’s project aims to understand some of the most extreme environments in our universe, namely powerful outflows of matter and energy launched in the form of jets at the end of the lives of some stars. To do so, she will investigate gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), highly variable and energetic outburst from these relativistic jets. Maria will use X-ray observations from the recently launched Einstein Probe and other high-energy satellites to study the properties of these events, formerly discovered only in gamma-rays, and what they can tell us about the progenitor systems and the physics of jets.
Giulia Roccetti
Proposal Title: Clouds from Earth to exoplanets
Giulia (she/her) grew up in Rome, Italy, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Sapienza University of Rome. She then moved to Munich, Germany, to pursue a Master’s degree in Physics, followed by a PhD at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Ludwig-Maximilian University (LMU). Her doctoral research focused on characterizing the Earth as an exoplanet using Earthshine observations.
Giulia's project aims to improve how clouds’ radiative effects are represented in exoplanet models, using Earth observations for validation. Clouds pose major challenges in radiative transfer modeling for both Earth and exoplanets, affecting how we interpret atmospheric data from current and upcoming telescopes such as ESA’s Ariel and Plato. To address this, she will use the first-of-its-kind 3D cloud profiles from ESA’s EarthCARE mission, combined with advanced 3D radiative transfer models. Building on this, Giulia will explore the potential to retrieve cloud properties in exoplanet atmospheres observed in reflected and polarized light. Her research will be key to advancing exoplanet characterization and reducing uncertainties in climate change projections.
Ciarán Rogers
Proposal Title: How environment shapes the birth and evolution of stars and planets
Ciarán completed his Bachelor’s degree at Dublin City University, Ireland, in Physics and Astronomy before moving to The Netherlands to begin a joint Master’s degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and The Vrije Universiteit. Following this, he accepted a PhD position to work at Universiteit Leiden. During his PhD, Ciarán has worked on some of the first JWST observations of young stars and protoplanetary disks.
Ciarán’s project will address the influence that the external environment has on star and planet formation by observing young stars and their planet forming disks in clusters. Ciarán focuses on star forming regions that are representative of where our own solar system likely formed, namely, with nearby high-mass stars and significant levels of lingering interstellar gas and dust, both of which may dramatically affect how stars and planets form and evolve. To enable this, Ciarán will use a combination of his own recently obtained NASA/ESA/CSA JWST observations, as well as archival observations from JWST and NASA/ESA HST.
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Last modified: 29 April 2025
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