Physics & Astrophysics

I was born in Porto, Portugal where I also studied for my undergraduate and masters degree. My PhD research was performed at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands and I received my degree in Astrophysics from the University of Porto in 2001. My thesis topic was stellar variability both on young and evolved stars. Since 2001 I have been a post-doctoral research assistant at Keele University, working at the Astrophysics Group.

My main topic of research is Star Formation, in particularly the impact of the environment on the formation of stars. Until recently I had been concentrating on star formation in our own Galaxy. Currently, a significant fraction of my research is dedicated to investigate the effects of metallicity (or metal content) on the early stages of stellar evolution, concentrating on the Magellanic Clouds, our nearest templates for low-metallicity environments. I am involved with several large international surveys using state of the art instrumentation: SMCSAGE, SAGE-IRS and SMC-Spec with the Spitzer Space Telescope, and VMC, a VISTA survey. I also chair the UK Infrared Telescope Time Allocation Committee.

Year 1

• 1st year problem classes and math tutorials
• 1st year second semester Stellar structure

Year 2

• Optics Lab (1st semester)
• Astro lab (2nd semester).