ESO Science Outreach Network

 

The ESO Department of Communication has established a network of contacts in the ESO Member states and other countries. The goal of this ESO Science Outreach Network (ESON) is to act locally as ESO's media and outreach representative, in order to promote ESO's mission and achievements, and demonstrate the many inspirational aspects of astronomy. The ESON contacts can also serve as interface between the local scientists and the media. The communication between the member states (at the official and scientific levels) and ESO, takes place through ESO's governing bodies, and not through ESON, which deals only with outreach matters.

The ESON members are science communicators who know the national media and stake-holders, and regularly interact with them. They have a strong interest in promoting ESO, and provide regular inputs and ideas for how to best reach the target groups in their area. The ESON nodes are also in charge of translating the ESO material in their national language.

Below is the list of ESON members. If your country is not represented, and if you or your organisation would be interested in acting as ESO's local outreach contact, contact us at information@eso.org.


 

ESON Countries

Member States:
 
    
Non-Member States:  
 
 
 
 
Host State:  
 

ESON Coordinator



Dr Mariya Lyubenova

E-mail: mlyubeno@eso.org

Mariya works as an astronomer at the ESO Headquarters in Garching, which means that she spends half of her time supporting the observatory and the other half on scientific research. Her functional work includes acting as a science liaison for ePOD, coordinating the astronomical image production team, and coordinating ESON.

Mariya holds a doctorate in astronomy from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet after pursuing 3 years of research at the Headquarters of ESO in Germany. In her work, she observes and uses the motions and chemical properties of stars in galaxies as fossil records to unravel the build-up and evolution of galaxies. Well before she started her university studies in her home country Bulgaria, she was already an active astronomy club member and editor of an astronomy magazine and a newspaper. After the completion of her PhD in 2009, she worked first as a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany and then at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

ESON Assistant



Susana Almagro García

E-mail: salmagro@eso.org
Tel: +49 89 3200 6291

Susana is the ESO Department of Communication Assistant at ESO's Headquarters in Garching. Her work includes providing administrative, travel, procurement and budget support for the department. Besides these duties, she also is in charge of logistics for the science communication internships, ePOD trainees, apprentices, students, visitors and volunteers. She coordinates events and projects as well as assisting with the budget and the coordination of payments.

ESO Member States — Contacts and Biographies



Austria

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/austria/

Dr Peter Habison

Austrian Planetarium Society
Vienna, Austria
Cel: +43 676 6487003
E-mail: eson-austria@eso.org

Peter Habison studied Physics at the University of Technology in Vienna, Astronomy and the History of Sciences at the University of Vienna. From 1995–2011 he was director of Kuffner Observatory and from 2000–2011 director of Vienna Planetarium and Urania Observatory in Vienna. Since 2009 he has been managing the European Southern Observatory Network for Science Communication and Outreach in Austria and collaborates on national and international projects with ESA, NASA and the Austrian broadcasting cooperation ORF. International studies and work experience brought him to the University of Innsbruck, Université Libre at Brussels (Belgium) and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias at Tenerife (Spain). He lectured at the University of Technology in Vienna, worked as tutor at the FFG Astrophysical Summer School Alpbach and gives regular lectures at planetaria, observatories and conferences worldwide on astronomical topics. He is an expert in the history of Kuffner Observatory and the Kuffner family, planetarium techniques, astronomy visualisation, communicating astronomy with the public and science communication. He is active in stimulating interest and enthusiasm amongst the young generation in astrophysics and natural sciences. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, the International Planetarium Society, Astronomische Gesellschaft, Österreichische Physikalische Gesellschaft, Gesellschaft deutschsprachiger Planetarien and Gesellschaft Österreichischer Planetarien.



Belgium

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/belgium/

Dr Rodrigo Alvarez

Planetarium, Royal Observatory of Belgium
Avenue de Bouchout
B-1020 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32-2-474 70 50
E-mail: eson-belgium@eso.org

Rodrigo Alvarez holds a PhD in astrophysics, obtained in 1997 at the University Denis Diderot (Paris VII). His research field concerned long-period variable AGB stars. Since 2001, he has been in charge of the Planetarium of the Royal Observatory of Belgium. He has acted as the Belgian national node for several educational and/or outreach projects, such as ESERO (European Space Education Resource Office, an educational project pursued by ESA) and the Hands-on Universe (European Comenius project). As the Belgian Single Point of Contact during the International Year of Astronomy 2009, he coordinated the activities of dozens of participants and promoted the numerous events organised during the year in Belgium.



Czechia

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/czechrepublic/


Anežka Srbljanović

Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Fričova 298
251 65 Ondřejov
Czechia
Phone: +420 323 620 116
Email: eson-czech@eso.org

Anežka Srbljanović is a PhD student at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. Her astronomical journey began at ESO during her six-month internship as a master student in 2019. Since the beginning, she has been studying molecular gas in galaxies — first to see if supermassive black holes are destroying its reservoirs, and now, at the Astronomical Institute, to see if hot intergalactic matter is ripping it out of galaxy disks.

Her favourite observatory is ALMA which she utilizes in the exploration of extended gaseous tails behind jellyfish galaxies to find its molecular component.

In her spare time, she enjoys lifting weights, singing, hiking, and cooking. She also loves to talk about astronomy, which is why you can find her at open door days, science fairs and in the ESO Science Outreach Network.

You can connect with Anežka on Facebook and Instagram

Mgr. Viktor Votruba PhD

Stellar Department
Astronomical Institute
Academy of Sciences of Czechia
Fricova 298
Ondrejov
25 165
Czechia
E-mail: eson-czech@eso.org

Viktor Votruba studied at the Masaryk University at Brno University in Czechia. After receiving a Bachelor's degree in general physics, he moved to the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at the same university. During his subsequent studies he focused mainly on nonlinear dynamics (for which he was awarded a Master's degree in 2000) and the hydrodynamics of the stellar wind from hot stars (obtaining his PhD on the topic in 2006). He was awarded the Dean's prize in the Faculty of Natural Science for his work on nonlinear dynamics.

Afterwards, he took up a post-doctoral position at the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Science, where he continued to work on stellar wind dynamics and nonlinear effects in stellar variability, and now works as a scientist. For his contributions to the study of the stellar wind from hot stars Viktor was awarded the Otto Wichterle Prize. He teaches a course in numerical methods in astrophysics and cosmology at Masaryk University and is an experienced supervisor of diploma and doctoral theses. He has been a member of the IAU since 2008.

Viktor Votruba has been popularising the natural sciences, and especially astronomy, for ten years, ever since he started as a lector at the public observatory in Brno. He teaches and informs students and the general public alike about new results in astronomy and about progress made in astrophysical research at an introductory level. He was also a co-organiser of the astronomical camp for young astronomers, which is hosted at the public observatory every summer. When not doing astronomy he is also a big volleyball fan.

Read Viktor's personal web page: http://physics.muni.cz/%7Evotruba/uvod.html



Denmark

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/denmark/

Ole J. Knudsen

SAC/IDA, Institut for Fysik og Astronomi
Aarhus Universitet
Ny Munkegade 120
Bygning 1520-532
8000 Aarhus C
Danmark
Tel: +45 8715 5597
E-mail: eson-denmark@eso.org

Ole J. Knudsen has a B.Sc. in astronomy and physics from University of Aarhus, Denmark and parallel to his work as planetarium manager at the Steno Museum in Aarhus from 1993 to 2014 he served the Danish public and media on all things astronomical and related to science and space research. He is also an experienced lecturer, radio and TV consultant, space expert, populariser and science writer. Ole is a fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and the International Planetarium Society.

Hans Kjeldsen

SAC/IDA, Institut for Fysik og Astronomi
Aarhus Universitet
Ny Munkegade 120
Bygning 1520-532
8000 Aarhus C
Danmark
Tel: +45 8715 5597
E-mail: eson-denmark@eso.org



Finland

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/finland/

Dr. Pasi Nurmi

Science Centre Tuorla of the University of Turku
Väisäläntie 20,
FI-21500 KAARINA,
Finland
Tel.: +358 29 4504 358 (cell)
E-mail: eson-finland@eso.org

Pasi Nurmi gained his Doctor of Philosophy (Astronomy) degree from the Tuorla Observatory, University of Turku in 2001. The topic of his PhD was the capture of long-period comets. After finishing his PhD Dr. Nurmi worked for three years (2001–2004) as a post-doc in Belgium at the Royal Observatory of Belgium. During this time he worked on the preparation of the European GAIA satellite, developing data reduction algorithms. From Belgium Dr. Nurmi moved back to Tuorla Observatory where he has participated in, among other things, the preparation of the Planck mission — his current interest is in observational cosmology. Dr. Nurmi has gained wide experience of many different science areas in astronomy. He has around 70 scientific papers to his name and he has worked on many different research topics related to dynamical systems and observational cosmology. He also has considerable experience of public outreach in astronomy and has given tens of public lectures, and many courses to audiences ranging from kindergarten kids to university students. He has translated several scripts and scientific texts from English into Finnish. Dr. Nurmi is currently coordinating the activities of the Science Centre Tuorla of the University of Turku.



France

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/france/

Thierry Botti

Responsable de la communication
Observatoire Astronomique Marseille Provence
Technopole de Château-Gombert
38, rue Frédéric Joliot-Curie
F-13388 Marseille cedex 13
France
Tel: +33-04 95 04 41 06
E-mail: eson-france@eso.org

After a master’s degree in economics and additional studies in communication, Thierry’s interest in international cooperation took him to the French Ministry of Education and Research. He went on to work in the cooperation and international division of the Ministry, and subsequently for a new French agency called EduFrance (now named Campus France). In both cases he was in charge of promoting French higher education to foreign students. He specialised in Latin American countries, organising numerous events from Argentina to Mexico, via Brazil, Venezuela etc. After that, he decided to spend some years working in South America, taking a new professional direction as deputy director of the Alliance Française in Buenos Aires, which is not only an educational institution dedicated to teaching French, but also a cultural centre and an important media library, offering a large range of activities related to the French language and culture. He then chose once again to turn his knowledge in communication toward another field of activities and found a job at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in charge of the communication department of the Observatoire Astronomique de Marseille Provence. Here he manages many activities including outreach, press relations and public relations. A very exciting job.



Germany

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/germany/

Dr Markus Pössel

Haus der Astronomie
MPIA-Campus 
Königstuhl 17    
D-69117 Heidelberg
Germany
Tel: +49 6221 528-261
E-mail: eson-germany@eso.org

Markus Pössel obtained his diploma in physics from Hamburg University in 1997, staying on for a PhD in quantum gravity, which he completed in 2003. Research for this PhD was carried out at the Max-Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), where Markus also started his slow slide into science outreach, writing several books, editing a popular science website on relativity theory called Einstein Online, and co-curating part of the Einstein exhibition in Berlin in 2005, among other activities. In 2007, he moved to New York as Senior Science Advisor to the newly-founded World Science Festival. In 2009, he returned to Germany, where he is now managing scientist of the Haus der Astronomie (literally the House of Astronomy), a newly-founded Centre for Astronomy Education and Outreach in Heidelberg. In 2010 he became the chief public relations officer at the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy.
Read Markus’s blog, Relativ Einfach.
Visit the website of Haus der Astronomie and the Facebook page.

 

Dr Carolin Liefke

Haus der Astronomie
MPIA-Campus 
Königstuhl 17    
D-69117 Heidelberg
Germany
Tel: +49 6221 528 226
E-Mail: eson-germany@eso.org

Carolin has been an amateur astronomer since the impact of comet Shoemaker–Levi 9 on Jupiter in 1994, when she was thirteen years old. Two years later she bought her first real telescope, a three-inch refractor. Today she owns a total of four telescopes, the biggest one a 16-inch dobsonian. Carolin is a member of several astronomy associations and a moderator in the Astrotreff, one of the biggest German-speaking astronomy-related internet communities. Carolin studied physics at the University of Hamburg and worked on stellar activity and X-ray astronomy at the Hamburger Sternwarte for her PhD. Among the highlights of her scientific career were two visits to Paranal, where she observed flare stars with the UVES spectrograph at Kueyen, one of the VLT's 8-metre telescopes. For more than ten years, Carolin has been involved in astronomy education and outreach. In March 2010, she turned this passion into a profession and is now working at the Haus der Astronomie, the Centre for Astronomy Education and Outreach in Heidelberg, where she is responsible for teacher training in astronomy at the University of Heidelberg, astronomy-related projects for high-school students, and for the centre’s telescopes. Carolin is a big fan of science fiction and fantasy. In her spare time, she goes hiking and climbing in the Alps.
Read Carolin’s blog. Carolin on Xing.
Visit the website of Haus der Astronomie and the Facebook page.

 

Dr Markus Nielbock

Haus der Astronomie
MPIA-Campus 
Königstuhl 17    
D-69117 Heidelberg
Germany
Tel: +49 6221 528 134
E-Mail: eson-germany@eso.org

Markus Nielbock has been fascinated by outer space since his childhood. He studied physics in Bochum and received his doctorate in astrophysics in 2001. He then moved to Chile as an ESO fellow to work on the largest single dish telescope so far based at any of the ESO observatories, the SEST. In 2003 he returned to Germany to intensify his research in the field of star formation. In 2006 he moved to the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, where he worked for almost 10 years as an instrument scientist for the PACS camera of the Herschel Space Telescope. Since 2015 he has been involved in astronomical education and public outreach at the Haus der Astronomie. There he develops teaching materials, organises public events, gives lectures and workshops, supports the training of teachers and cultivates contacts to classical media such as the press, radio and television. He also acts as a contact person for topics relating to space flight. Since 2018 he has also been employed as a public information officer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. For many years he has been enthusiastically involved in several astronomically oriented associations in Germany and Switzerland and has inspired people for space and astronomy. His passion is to bring the Universe closer to as many people as possible. Markus is a fan of Star Trek and Stanislaw Lem. His second major project is his daughter, who has been severely affected by an innate rare genetic defect. Through press activities and fundraising, he works to ensure that the disease BPAN becomes known and can be treated and finally cured through progress in medical research.



Ireland

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/ireland/

Rob O’Sullivan

Communications Officer
Blackrock Castle Observatory
Blackrock
Cork
Ireland
Tel: +353 21 432 6120
Email: eson-ireland@eso.org

Rob is an experienced science communicator with a strong track record of working in the non-profit organization management industry. Currently working in the creation, administration, and delivery of educational programs at a Science Foundation Ireland Discover Centre - MTU Blackrock Castle Observatory.

His "edutainment" approach to science communication has seen him deliver across programs such as Bright Club, The Cheltenham Science Festival, Body and Soul Festival, and more. He is currently applying his research and writing skills to the scripting and installation of an entirely new science exhibit at the observatory.

Rob is a strong media and communications professional with a Bachelor's Degree in Zoology from University College Cork. This experience has been applied to roles in charity, NGO, and grassroots political backgrounds. Rob is currently Ireland’s National Outreach Coordinator for World Space Week and the International Astronomical Union. With the team at MTU Blackrock Castle Observatory, he works to raise awareness of the benefits Ireland receives through their involvement with groups such as the European Space Agency and The European Southern Observatory. His primary motivation is to facilitate increased accessibility to space science and STEM fields for groups that have been traditionally marginalised.

Niall Smith

Munster Technological University
Cork
Ireland
Email: eson-ireland@eso.org

Niall studied astrophysics at University College Dublin and graduated with his PhD in 1990. He lectured in the Department of Applied Physics & Instrumentation in Cork Institute of Technology for 18 years before becoming the Institute’s first Head of Research in 2005. Niall is the Founder-Director of the internationally award-winning Blackrock Castle Observatory. In 2017, Niall was the host Director for the International Space University Space Studies Programme which is the largest conference programme ever to come to Cork, lasting a total of 9 weeks and involving over 320 global space experts. Niall’s research focuses on space topics including ultra-high precision photometry and the uses of small satellites in low earth orbit for a wide range of functions from high resolution imaging to space cybersecurity to rural broadband. He was the Higher Education representative on the National Steering Group for the Irish Government’s recently published Space Strategy for Enterprise and considers Space 4.0 to be a significant opportunity for the Irish business community.



Italy

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/italy/

Anna Wolter

Via Brera, 28
20121 Milano
Italy
Tel: +39-02-72320321
E-mail: eson-italy@eso.org

Anna Wolter is an astrophysicist, and has been working at the INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera in Milan, Italy since 1991. After a physics degree in Milan she began her scientific career at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. There she helped to construct one of the best-exploited surveys of X-ray sources, serendipitously found in the Einstein Observatory images, the Extended Medium Sensitivity Survey (EMSS). She has dealt with all kinds of X-ray emitters, from stars to clusters of galaxies, but her main interest was with the class of the highly luminous and variable galaxy nuclei called BL Lacs. More recently she has moved from the point-like sources at the centres of galaxies to the diffuse/unresolved emission within them. She now devotes much of her time to the study of ultraluminous X-ray sources, a puzzling class of sources in external galaxies, which probably harbour heavy black holes, intermediate in mass between the light stellar ones and the supermassive nuclei at the centre of galaxies. Part of the time she focuses on the statistical analysis of complete samples, deriving luminosity functions, and for the remainder she studies in detail a few selected and complex objects, like galaxies, which have many different components that contribute to the overall emission. The main wavelength of interest is always X-ray, but Anna believes that a multiwavelength approach is important for a complete insight into an astronomical problem and so has worked with almost every energy band accessible. She is Principal Investigator of optical, radio, X-ray and gamma-ray observations of various celestial sources. She is author and co-author of about a hundred papers in refereed journals and about as many contributions to International meetings. In the last ten years she has devoted a significant fraction of her time to both teaching and outreach activities. She delivers lectures on key topics as part of the astrophysics curriculum at the Milan universities, and tutors Laurea and post-Laurea students. She delivers conferences and lectures for the public and for high school and middle school classes on various astrophysical topics.



The Netherlands

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/netherlands/

Dr Marieke Baan

Nederlandse Onderzoekschool voor Astronomie
NOVA Informatie Centrum
Science Park 904
1098 XH Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31(0)20-5257480
E-mail: eson-netherlands@eso.org

Marieke studied at the universities of Utrecht and Amsterdam. She worked for the Dutch public broadcaster NOS from 1991–2003. After two years working as a freelancer writing on new media issues, she then switched her career to astronomy and communications. She has been a Public Information Officer and Head of Communication at the Dutch Research School for Astronomy (NOVA) since 2005. This top research school is a cooperation between the astronomical institutes of the universities of Amsterdam, Groningen, Leiden and Nijmegen. The NOVA Information Centre communicates astronomy with the general public, press and schools in the Netherlands. The office is based at the University of Amsterdam and works with three staff members and seven freelancers. Educational outreach has been developing fast since 2010, and features a mobile planetarium, digiboard lessons, apps and exercises for school children. Marieke was the Dutch coordinator for the International Year of Astronomy 2009. She is also the editor of the Dutch astronomy website www.astronomie.nl.

You can follow Marieke on Twitter for astronomy and personal tweets and on @astronomieNL for astronomy only and on @eso_netherlands for ESO news.

David Redeker

Nederlandse Onderzoekschool voor Astronomie
NOVA Informatie Centrum
Science Park 904
1098 XH Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31(0)20-5257480
E-mail: eson-netherlands@eso.org



Poland

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/poland/

Dr Krzysztof Czart

Urania – Postępy Astronomii
Centrum Astronomii UMK
ul. Gagarina 11
87-100 Toruń
Poland
Tel: +48 513 733 282
Email: eson-poland@eso.org

Krzysztof Czart is an astronomer and science journalist. He graduated in astronomy at the Nicolas Copernicus University in Toruń, the city where Nicolas Copernicus was born. His main scientific interests are stellar spectroscopy, variable stars, massive stars, Wolf–Rayet stars and OB associations. He is a member of the Polish Astronomical Society and the author of hundreds of news articles about astronomy, astronautics and space research on internet portals, as well as many popular articles about astronomy in printed magazines. He created the English–Polish and Polish–English Astronomical Dictionary used by many internet dictionaries (including Onet.pl) as well as the Astronomical Dictionary of the Polish Astronomical Society. He has also worked for television, preparing data and texts about astronomy that were broadcasted every day by the TVN Meteo channel. He is co-author of the "Astronarium" television series in the Polish Television (TVP).

He created Astronomia.pl — the Polish Astronomy Portal, which was the biggest and the most popular astronomical portal in Poland. He was Editor in Chief of the portal since its launch in 2001 until 2011. Krzysztof was also editor of the Kosmos – Tajemnice Wszechświata astronomy magazine. He collaborates with the science section of the Polish Press Agency and is editor of Urania – Postępy Astronomii astronomy magazine.

While his main specialisation is communicating astronomy through written text and over the internet, he has taken part in many other activities, including leading guided tours at an astronomical observatory, giving lectures for school students and amateur astronomers, participating in science festivals and bringing exciting international projects in education and the communication of astronomy to Poland.



Portugal

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/portugal/

Dr. Margarida Serote Roos

Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço
Lisboa, Portugal
Tel: +351 964951692
E-mail: eson-portugal@eso.org

Margarida Serote holds a PhD in astrophysics (University of Paris 7, 1996). Her main research field concerned extragalactic astronomy, namely the study of active galactic nuclei in terms of their stellar populations. She has also worked on large-scale structures, trying to understand the effects of redshift and environment in clusters of galaxies. For almost 14 years Margarida worked as a scientist at the Paris–Meudon Observatory, France, and afterwards at the Lisbon Observatory, Portugal. She has been actively promoting astronomy to the public ever since she started her undergraduate studies in 1986, by giving talks, courses, leading planetarium shows and writing popular articles. For four years she edited a monthly publication of the Lisbon Observatory, distributed on a national level to all secondary schools and was a founding member of the Portuguese Astronomical Society.  More recently she has started working as a film producer. Together with her husband, she runs a small film company called Lightcurve Films. They have produced over 35 films, mostly on topics related to astrophysics, often with an educational angle and aimed at younger students and a general audience. Margarida also translates scientific books.



Spain

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/spain/

Dr Miguel Mas-Hesse

Centro de Astrobiología (CAB; CSIC-INTA)
Crta. Ajalvir km4
28850 Torrejon de Ardoz
Madrid
Spain
Tel: +34 91 813 11 96
E-mail: eson-spain@eso.org

Miguel has a PhD in astrophysics, with a special interest in the study of violent star-forming episodes in the Universe (massive starbursts), and their relation to active galactic nuclei. He completed his PhD under the supervision of Dr D. Kunth (Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris) on the properties of starburst galaxies, combining population synthesis models with ultraviolet–optical–infrared observations. Recently his research has focused on the properties of Lyman-alpha emission in these galaxies, which is a powerful tool for unveiling the evolution of star formation through the history of the Universe. In parallel, he has participated in the development of space instrumentation for astronomy: as Principal Investigator for the Optical Monitoring Camera on the high energy ESA INTEGRAL observatory, and as Co-Investigator on the Spanish MINISAT-01-LEGRI gamma-ray imager and finally, on the Bepi Colombo MIXS X-ray imaging spectrometer. He is presently working on instruments for the ESA PLATO mission. Between 1991 and 2003 Miguel worked at the Spanish Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), after some years at Madrid Complutense University (1986–1990) and a postdoctoral stay at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching (1990–1991). This stay marked his first direct interaction with ESO, which is located close to the MPE building. Since 2003 he has been a CSIC staff researcher at the Center for Astrobiology (CAB), a joint institute between the Spanish INTA and CSIC (the Spanish research council), which is also associated to the NASA Astrobiology Institute. Since June 2015 he is the Director of CAB. He enjoys talking about astronomy to the general public in very different scenarios, and devotes a significant time to these activities. Apart from astronomy and astronautics, he likes skiing and hiking, frequently visiting the mountains close to Madrid.
Read CAB Website.

 

Natalia Ruiz Zelmanovitch

Instituto de Física Fundamental (CSIC)
Calle Serrano, 121
28006 Madrid
Spain
E-mail: eson-spain@eso.org

Natalia studied translation and interpretation (French and English) at the University of Granada, and soon afterwards she discovered her passion for communication. After some years writing and working for local radio, television and press offices in Granada, in 2001 she moved to the Canary Islands, where she fell in love with astronomy, mostly because of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). There, she developed the GTC Communication Plan, doing the tasks of a Public Information Officer (press releases, website info, media relations, audiovisuals etc.), as well as other areas of activity, including training science journalists, participating in the editorial team of the IAC journal, running activities for children etc. After seven years at the IAC, she moved to Madrid to do public outreach for several projects. She is now PIO of the ERC project NANOCOSMOS. She loves travelling, writing short stories (www.cuentofilia.com) radio and theatre.



Sweden

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/sweden/

Dr. Johan Warell

Lindby 229
274 93 Skurup
Sweden
Tel: +46-706-494731
E-mail: eson-sweden@eso.org

Johan has a lifelong interest in astronomy. He studied astronomy at Uppsala University and completed his PhD in 2003, after which he spent his post doc at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Tucson and the Max-Planck Institut für Aeronomie in Katlenburg-Lindau. His main research focus was the mineralogy, light scattering and grain properties of the regoliths of Mercury, the Moon and minor bodies. As an assistant professor in Uppsala he managed the operations of the Westerlund Telescope and the public outreach activities at the Department of Astronomy and Space Physics.

Since 2010 he has been the science and technology editor at Nationalencyklopedin in Malmö, working with digital encyclopedias and teaching services. He also writes and produces online primary and high school curriculum courses in physics and technology.

His amateur astronomical interest started in the third grade when he learned from his school teacher that "light can travel seven times around the Earth in the same time you say 'bag'." Between 2003 and 2020 he was president of the Swedish Amateur Astronomical Society (www.saaf.se), and is now running the Remote Telescope Section and the society's telescope in southern Spain. He operates a private observatory with a home built 52 cm Newtonian, focusing on planets, comets, occultations and the deep sky. He shares his data with international organisations, participates in pro-am projects such as JunoCam for the Juno mission, and is assistant administrator for the COBS comet database.

Johan lives with his family in rural Skåne in the southernmost part of Sweden. While not under the stars, he enjoys practical meteorology and science fiction, spending time in nature, playing squash and tinkering with home improvement and telescope projects.



Switzerland

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/switzerland

Mr. Joerg Gasser


Dorfstrasse 26
8556 Illhart
Switzerland

E-mail: eson-switzerland@eso.org

Joerg's interest in astronomy took root in his youth, where he fostered his passion by crafting his own telescopes, enabling him to explore space from his backyard. As he grew, he furthered his involvement by becoming a demonstrator at his local public observatory, sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge with others.

Despite his early passion, he pursued diverse academic interests, earning degrees in Economics, International Relations, and Arabic at the University of Zurich and the University of Damascus.

After a decade of fieldwork in the Middle East, Joerg shifted his focus to the governmental sector, serving inter alia as Secretary of State of International Finance before assuming the role of CEO of the Swiss Bankers Association until 2023. Upon concluding his professional tenure, he devoted himself to astronomy, balancing his commitments as a consultant, entrepreneur, and board member with his celestial endeavours. Currently completing a master's degree in Astronomy at Swinburne Technical University in Melbourne, Joerg operates his own automated observatory in Eastern Switzerland, specializing in observing asteroids and calculating their orbits. He is member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers and of Dark Sky Switzerland.

When not stargazing, Joerg enjoys spending time with his dogs & cats, camping, and tinkering with his observatory's equipment. His commitment to both scientific exploration and preserving the natural beauty of the night sky reflects his commitment to understanding the universe and to safeguarding the biosphere in its entirety.




United Kingdom

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/unitedkingdom/

Alexander Fyans

International and Research Programme Media Manager
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Harwell Oxford
Oxfordshire OX11 0QX
UK
Tel.: +44 (0) 844 804 1440
E-mail: eson-uk@eso.org

Jake Gilmore

Co-Head of Communications
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Harwell Oxford
Oxfordshire OX11 0QX
UK
E-mail: eson-uk@eso.org





Chile

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/chile/

Francisco Rodríguez

ESO Santiago Office
Alonso de Cordova 3107
Vitacura
Chile
Tel: +56-2-463-3151
Email: eson-chile@eso.org



Australia

ESO mini-site: http://www.eso.org/public/australia/

Dr. Stuart Ryder

Program Manager, Astronomy Australia Limited
P.O. Box 2100,
Hawthorn, VIC 3122,
Australia

Phone: +61 3 9850 9372 (office)
Web: http://www.astronomyaustralia.org.au/
Email: eson-australia@eso.org

Stuart Ryder is based in Sydney, Australia and works for Astronomy Australia Ltd (AAL) as a Program Manager supporting Australia’s engagement with ESO. AAL is a not-for-profit company that aims to provide Australian astronomers with access to world-class national and international astronomy research infrastructure.

Stuart holds a PhD in astrophysics from the Australian National University. His research focuses on the discovery and evolution of core-collapse supernovae, as well as identifying their progenitor stars. Before joining AAL in 2018, Stuart managed the Australian Astronomical Observatory’s International Telescopes Support Office, coordinating Australian access to telescopes including Gemini, Magellan, Keck, and Subaru.

Stuart is also an Adjunct Fellow with Macquarie University. He regularly participates in outreach activities, and has led total solar eclipse viewing expeditions to Mexico, Chile, Mongolia, the Caribbean, Turkey, China, Australia, and the USA.

Dr. Tanya Hill

Melbourne Planetarium, Scienceworks
Museum Victoria,
GPO Box 666,
Melbourne 3001, Victoria, Australia

Public Phone Number: +61 400 130 675
Email: eson-australia@eso.org

Dr Tanya Hill has been the Astronomer for the Melbourne Planetarium since it opened at Scienceworks in 1999. She holds a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Sydney, where she searched for supermassive black holes within a sample of 25 galaxies. For her research, she has used a range of Australian telescopes including the Anglo-Australian Telescope, the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Parkes Radio Telescope, and NASA’s Tidbinbilla Radio Telescope located in the ACT. While studying for her PhD, Tanya also worked as a Guide Lecturer at Sydney Observatory, which ignited her passion for science communication. She has produced more than a dozen planetarium shows and Melbourne Planetarium productions can now be seen across 15 countries around the world. One of her favourites is Black Holes: Journey into the Unknown which draws together research from her postgraduate studies to bring to life all that is fascinating and extreme in the world black holes.

Romy Pearse

Romy Pearse

Communications Manager, Astronomy Australia Limited
P.O. Box 2100,
Hawthorn, VIC 3122,
Australia

Phone: +61 3 9850 9372 (office)
Web: http://www.astronomyaustralia.org.au/
Email: eson-australia@eso.org

Romy Pearse is based in Melbourne, Australia and works for Astronomy Australia Ltd (AAL) as a communications Manager. AAL is a not-for-profit company that aims to provide Australian astronomers with access to world-class national and international astronomy research infrastructure.

Romy holds an honours degree (first class) in graphic design from Swinburne University of Technology and is currently halfway through a Masters of Astronomy with Swinburne Astronomy Online. After twenty years as a graphic designer, Romy began to take on more communications roles, writing annual reports and submissions for multi-million-dollar tender processes. Her love of astronomy brought her to AAL, where she now communicates with government departments and astronomers on behalf of AAL, liaises with the media, manages AAL’s online presence, and writes annual reports and press releases, all while ensuring AAL’s visual presence (via member emails, presentations etc) is consistent at all times. She is also interested in communicating astronomy to the public and general outreach opportunities.



Brazil

Dr Eugênio Reis Neto

Olimpíada Brasileira de Astronomia e Astronáutica — Instituto de Física - UERJ (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro)
Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Bloco D - Sala 3023
Maracanã - CEP: 20550-900
Rio de Janeiro – RJ - Brasil
Tel: +55 21 98743 2571
E-mail: eson-brazil@eso.org

Eugênio has a Master's degree in Astronomy and a PhD in Geophysics (2009) from the Observatório Nacional in Rio de Janeiro, having designed and developed a heliometer, a special solar telescope that accurately measures small variations in the diameter of the Sun's photosphere.

In the last 5 years Eugênio has worked as a Coordinator of Science Education at the Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins (MAST) in Rio de Janeiro, working mainly in the following areas: lectures, seminars and workshops, with emphasis on dissemination and popularisation of science; organisation, coordination and realisation of scientific popularisation events in cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro; programs of continuing development for teachers and for graduate or undergraduate students; and the development of teaching materials specially designed for younger learners.

Eugênio is the National Vice-coordinator of the Brazilian Astronomy and Astronautics Olympiad (OBA), a scientific Olympiad in which about 750,000 elementary and high schools students from all over Brazil participate. He is also responsible for the selection and training of the students for the Latin American Astronomy and Astronautics Olympiad (OLAA) and for the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA).



Hungary

Róbert Szabó

Konkoly Observatory
Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
H-1121 Budapest
Konkoly Thege Miklós út 15-17
Hungary
Tel: +36 1 3919367
Email: eson-hungary@eso.org

Róbert Szabó studied at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. He earned his PhD in astronomy in 2004 on the topic of numerical modelling of stellar pulsation. He worked at the Physics Department of the University of Florida in 2005-2007 as a postdoc, working on numerical hydrocodes. His research interests span a wide range: variable stars, stellar pulsations, exoplanets and recently Solar System objects. In recent years he specialized in space photometry and worked with a fleet of space telescopes (CoRoT, MOST, Kepler and K2). He leads the RR Lyrae and Cepheids Working Groups of the Kepler and TESS Asteroseismic Science Consortia. He founded the Hungarian Kepler research group, and serves as a Board member of PLATO (Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars), the European Space Agency’s next exoplanet finder mission. In 2016 became the Deputy Director of the Konkoly Observatory, the largest astronomical institute in Hungary. Róbert Szabó regularly teaches astronomy and astrophysics at Hungarian universities. As a former amateur astronomer he is keen on popularizing astronomy to a wide range of audiences, from primary school to senior citizens, frequently appearing in journals, TV and radio shows. In 2008 he completed the Science Communication and Research Management course at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.



Iceland

Sævar Helgi Bragason

Center for Astrophysics and Cosmology
University of Iceland
Dunhaga 5 (Tæknigarður)
107 Reykjavík
Iceland
Tel: +354-896-1984
E-mail: eson-iceland@eso.org

Sævar was born on 17 April 1984 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Fascinated by astronomy for as long as he can remember, he became hooked when he saw Saturn through a telescope for the first time at a very young age. Sævar did not head straight to university after he finished high school, but became a high school teacher in physics and astronomy for two years. After that, he started undergraduate studies in geology at the University of Iceland, with the aim of becoming a planetary geologist, but he soon discovered that his heart belonged to astrophysics. Therefore, he decided to start studying astrophysics in Denmark in late 2011. He is mostly fascinated by observational astrophysics, and the search for exoplanets in particular. Along with his studies, Sævar works as a science communicator/Public Information Officer for the Centre of Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Iceland. He is also an editor of the Icelandic astronomy website http://www.stjornuskodun.is and chairman of the Amateur Astronomical Society. He runs a small company called Sjónaukar.is which specialises in selling telescopes and other equipment for stargazers. Other interests involve hiking, travelling, playing and watching football (a passionate Liverpool fan), photography and relaxing in front of his HDTV. He loves seeing the Universe with his own eyes, but his greatest joy is watching his son growing up. 31 December 2010 was the best day of his life — when he witnessed his fiancée give birth to their son.
Visit Sævar’s website.
Sævar on Facebook, Twitter  and Flickr 



Norway

Maria Hammerstrøm

University of Oslo
PO box 1080, Blindern
0316 Oslo
Norway
Cell: +47 922 01 286
E-mail: eson-norway@eso.org

Maria has a Master’s Degree in Astrophysics from the University of Oslo, Norway. She is also an astronomy blogger and a graphic designer. Visit Maria’s personal web page.



Russia

Russian ESON member

Dr. Kirill Maslennikov

The Central (Pulkovo) Astronomical Observatory of Russian Academy of Sciences
65, Pulkovskoye shosse
196140 Pulkovo, St.-Petersburg,
Russia
Tel.: +7-911-212-2130
Email: eson-russia@eso.org

Kirill studied astrophysics in St. Petersburg (at that time, Leningrad) University. His Cand.Sci. thesis (this degree in Russia is similar to PhD) presented in 1984 in Space Research Institute, Moscow, considered Hartmann-type wavefront sensing for adaptive optics (studies parallel to those later succeeded in the famous ESO adaptive optics concept). In the 80-ies, Kirill was in charge of the astronomical outpost of Pulkovo Observatory at Shorbulak in the Pamirs, the site at 4300 m above the sea level with perfect conditions for observations and exceptionally dry atmosphere (again, similar in this way to Chajnantor). Later, using, primarily, the largest Russian 6-m BTA Telescope at the Northern Caucasus, has been working on different subjects of optical photometry and photopolarimetry, for example, Kuiper Belt asteroids and BL Lac objects. At Pulkovo, Kirill carries out regular observations of wide binaries with the Large 26-inch Refractor. He is responsible for handling international relations of the Observatory and involved in Public Outreach activities, both for groups of foreign students and local kids fascinated with astronomy.



Turkey

Arif Solmaz

University of Cag
Dept. of Math/CS, Space and Astronomy Office
Yenice, Tarsus/Mersin
Turkey
Tel.: +90 538 614 29 38
Email: eson-turkey@eso.org

Arif is a professional astronomer and a communication scientist, working primarily on improving our understanding of exoplanets. He has been working for the Astrophysics Research Centre & Ulupınar Observatory of the University of Canakkale in Turkey for seven years. Arif is now at another university and research centre — the University of Cag (Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Sciences) and Space and Astronomy Office (SAO) — which is located in southern Turkey. He graduated from the physics department in 2008 and from space sciences and technologies in 2010. His thesis was titled “A Status Report and Planning of Future for Exoplanet Observations”. Arif is interested in this topic and its impact on society. Thanks to his new position at SAO, he will be able to work as a Science Communicator, Coordinator and Program Director for the public in general, doing astronomical observations and presenting some recent planetarium shows for visitors.
Visit Arif on Flickr.



United States

Dr. Paola Rebusco

ESO Science Outreach Network
MIT - Experimental Study Group
Massachusetts Avenue 77
Bldg 24-608
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA
Tel: +1-617-324-7773
Email: eson-usa@eso.org

Paola is currently working as a research scientist and lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT in Cambridge, MA). She was born in Italy, near Lake Garda. She earned her master's degree in theoretical physics from the University of Trieste (Italy) in 2003. She received her PhD in astronomy from the Ludwig Maximillian University (Munich, Germany) and the International Max Planck Research School for Astrophysics in 2007. She then crossed the Atlantic, along with her dog Balù, and spent three years as a Pappalardo Postdoctoral fellow in Physics at MIT. Dr Rebusco is not only interested in theoretical astrophysics and teaching, but also in how specialised knowledge is made publicly accessible. During the last six months of her PhD she was a science-writing intern at ESO. Today, apart from being the ESON representative in the United States, Paola comments on scientific news for the Italian radio programme Moebius, and contributes to the Italian science magazine Newton. Paola loves travelling (especially to warm places), sailing, writing and reading, cooking and eating, and playing basketball with her husband. Although she is not an observer, she travels to Chile to visit her friends and ESO’s observatories whenever she can.
Read Paola’s webpage here.