About Me

I am a researcher working under Maria Elena Innocenti in the Institut für Theoretische Physik I (TP1) in conjuction with the Sonderforschungsbereiche (SFB) at the Ruhr Universität Bochum (RUB). I also work in collaboration with the Group for Lasers and Plasmas (GoLP) at Instituto Superior Técnico, using the particle-in-cell framework OSIRIS.

I am generaly interested in fluid dynamics, and in particular plasma physics. I have a particular interest in both magnetic field generation and magnetic reconnection, and their applications in understanding many systems in space physics. I work on computer modeling of plasmas where I have used parallel processing on supercomputers including Helios, Shaheen, Supermuc, Juqueen, Mira, MareNostrum, and Lumi, I completed my Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Maryland, where I worked with James Drake.

Recent Work

Most recently I have been looking into magnetic reconnection in extremely strong magnetic fields where QED effects including pair-production play a role. I have also been investigating the generation of magnetic fields by the Biermann battery and the Weibel instability, relevant in both experimental plasmas generated by lasers and in astrophysical situations.

For my Ph.D. I had been working on a particular application of reconnection in the outer heliosphere, which we have been fortunate enough to get media attention for.

Fox News: Huge Magnetic Bubbles May Churn at Solar System's Edge
National Geographic: Frothy Magnetic-Bubble Sea Found at Solar System's Edge
BBC: Voyagers ride 'magnetic bubbles'
MSNBC: Magnetic bubbles churn at solar system's edge

My work looked into the effect of plasma beta on these magnetic bubbles in the news.