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Rafael Porto
Theoretical Astroparticle Physics, Cosmology, Gravitational Waves
Rafael Porto became Lead Scientist at DESY in 2020. Porto’s multidisciplinary research programme lies at the interface between astroparticle physics, cosmology and gravitational-wave science. He focuses on using novel tools and ideas from particle physics to tackle the two-body problem in gravity, the nature of compact objects, the dynamics of large-scale structures and the physics of the early universe. In particular, Porto’s work will enable the study of black holes in Einstein’s theory of gravity, the properties of nuclear matter under unique conditions in neutron stars as well as searches for physics beyond the standard model, through gravitational wave ‘precision data’ with present and future detectors (such as the Einstein Telescope).
A particle physicist by training, and originally from Montevideo (Uruguay), Porto graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007 with a PhD in physics. He then went on to post-doctoral positions at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, and afterwards a joint appointment between the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and Columbia University. Before coming to DESY — first as a senior staff scientist in 2019 — he was a faculty member and Simons/FAPESP Young Investigator at the ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research in Sao Paulo."
Academic career
Since 2020 | Lead Scientist in the Astroparticle Physics Division, DESY in Hamburg |
Since 2020 | Principal Investigator, Cluster of Excellence “Quantum Universe”, University of Hamburg |
2019-2020 | Staff scientist. Astro-Particle Physics Division, DESY in Hamburg |
Since 2019 | ERC Consolidator Grant: "Precision Gravity: From the LHC to LISA" |
2015-2020 | Associate staff scientist, ICTP Trieste, Italy |
2015-2018 | Simons-Foundation/FAPESP Young Investigator, ICTP-SAIFR, Brazil |
2015-2018 | Faculty member. ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research (ICTP-SAIFR), Sao Paulo, Brazil |
2010-2013 | Membership, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton NJ, USA |
2010-2013 | Postdoctoral fellowship, Columbia University NYC, USA |
2007-2010 | Postdoctoral fellowship, UC Santa Barbara and Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara, CA, USA |
2003-2007 | PhD in Physics. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA |
2003 | Licenciatura (BSc) & Master (MSc) en Física, Universidad de la República, Uruguay |