Curriculum Vitae
Curriculum Vitae
Research interests: protoplanetary and debris disks, exoplanets, radio interferometry, and statistics & machine learning applied to astronomy.
Positions
Research Associate
Queen Mary University of London, UK
2025 – present
Research Associate
Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, UK
2022 – 2025
ESO/ALMA Fellow
European Southern Observatory, Chile
2018 – 2022
Postdoctoral Researcher
Boston University, USA
2015 – 2018
Herschel Processing Software Tester
ESAC / ESA, Spain
2011 – 2012
ESA Trainee
ESAC / ESA, Spain
2011
Education
Ph.D. in Astrophysics
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid & European Space Astronomy Centre (ESA)
Protoplanetary disk evolution in nearby star-forming regions
Protoplanetary disk evolution in nearby star-forming regions
2015
M.Sc. in Astrophysics
Universidad Complutense de Madrid & Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
2012
B.Sc. in Physics (Major: Astrophysics)
Universidad Complutense de Madrid & Universidad de Salamanca
2011
Fellowships & awards
Trinity College Postdoc Society Member, University of Cambridge
2024
Joint ALMA Observatory Fellowship (declined)
2022
ESO/ALMA Fellowship
2018
SMA Fellowship, Harvard & Smithsonian CfA (declined)
2018
FONDECyT Postdoctoral Fellowship, Chilean Government (declined)
2018
IdEx Bordeaux Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Bordeaux (declined)
2018
ESA Traineeship
2011
Technical skills
Programming
Python (advanced), Julia (intermediate), PostgreSQL (basic), git / GitHub
Data & machine learning
Neural-network model emulation, Bayesian inference, large heterogeneous surveys (Gaia); Coursera Machine Learning specialization (supervised, advanced algorithms, unsupervised / recommenders / RL)
Observational
Radio interferometry with ALMA and the VLA (calibration, imaging, quality assurance); optical/IR photometry and spectroscopy
Languages
Spanish (native), English (fluent), German (basic)
Observing experience
Accepted proposals as PI
- Five ALMA proposals (~55 h allocated)
- One VLA proposal (~4 h allocated)
- Two VISIR/VLT and three Canaricam/GTC proposals
Other
- Co-I on numerous programs with ALMA, VLA, SPHERE/VLT, Herschel, and ground-based facilities
- Astronomer on Duty at ALMA (2018 – 2022): science operations, data quality assurance, and calibration observations
Selected invited talks & seminars
Spanish Astronomical Society General Meeting
Tarragona, Spain, 2026
Astrophysics seminar, Queen Mary University of London
London, UK, 2026
Astronomy Lunch seminar, University of St Andrews
St Andrews, UK, 2024
ESO Lunch Talk
Munich, Germany, 2024
Astrocoffee seminar, University of Hawai‘i
Hawai‘i, USA, 2024
DAMTP seminar, University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK, 2024
IPAG Odyssey star & planet formation group, Grenoble
Grenoble, France, 2021–2023
Machine Learning in Astronomy
Virtual, 2021
Plus numerous contributed talks and ten conference posters — see the full CV.
Teaching
Structure and Evolution of Stars (teaching assistant)
Cambridge, UK, 2024–25
Dustbusters School II on protoplanetary disks (interferometry tutor)
Lyon, France, 2024
8th Byurakan International Summer School (lecturer)
Virtual, 2022
OPTICON Archival School (interferometry tutor)
Virtual, 2021
Guest lecturer — Advanced Topics of Astrophysics (U. Andrés Bello); AS203 Principles of Astronomy 2 (Boston U.)
2017–2020
Academic mentoring
I have supervised or co-supervised 15 students, from undergraduate projects to PhD, across QMUL, Cambridge, ESO, Boston University, and several European universities.
Professional service
- JWST proposal reviewer (Cycles 3 & 4), 2024–25
- STFC Large Award external reviewer, 2024
- PhD thesis committee member, 2024
- NASA ADAP reviewer, 2023
- NASA Exoplanets Research Program reviewer, 2022
- ESO Science Support Discretionary Fund committee, 2020
- ALMA Time Allocation Committee Technical Secretary, 2019
- Referee for ApJ, AJ, A&A, and MNRAS
- Co-chair, SOC & LOC — Five years after HL Tau (2020, 500+ participants)
- SOC / LOC member for several disk & data workshops
Outreach & media
- Multiple international press releases about Ribas et al. 2025
- Interviews with New Scientist (2023), ScienceNews (2022), and Chilean press & radio (2019)
- Public talks including the Cambridge University Astronomical Society (2025) and many ESO / Boston University outreach events
- Owner of Cartas desde Andrómeda (2009–2014), a science & astronomy blog with 60,000+ visits
Last updated July 2026 · full CV & publication list (PDF)