Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics
I find a lot of joy and purpose in sharing my research and the wonders of the cosmos with children and the general public.
Originally from Cyprus, I left the island at age 18 to study Physics at the University of Bristol. I subsequently carried out a Masters degree at the University of Barcelona and then my PhD at the University of Aix-Marseille in France. My job as a theoretical astrophysicist then took me to Paris and Munich, before finally settling in Durham in 2022. Having the opportunity to experience different cultures, languages and meet people from all over the world has been one of the things I love about my job.
I find a lot of joy and purpose in sharing my research and the wonders of the cosmos with children and the general public. My research involves understanding how galaxies – collections of stars, gas and dark matter – are born and subsequently grow, such that they end up looking like the galaxies we see in the nearby Universe today. I’m very interested in our own home galaxy, the Milky Way, and in understanding it’s unique life journey (in fact every galaxy is unique, just like humans).
Two of the science engagement projects closest to my heart have been running the Durham Physics Mobile planetarium – which takes our inflatable planetarium to schools around County Durham and beyond – and the “Columba-Hypatia: Astronomy for Peace” project which brings astronomy closer to children on the post-conflict island of Cyprus in order to inspire a sense of global citizenship, a culture of peace and non-violence, and curiosity about science and astronomy.
Astronomy gives us a glimpse of the vastness of the Universe and our place in it, giving us a perspective on how small we are within the grand scheme of things, and how fragile Earth, its atmosphere and its ecosystems are. It shines a light on the importance of working together across borders to protect our planet, to tackle the existential issues facing humanity today and to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Science communication is therefore not only fun and awe-inspiring but also plays an important role in cultivating a sense of global citizenship.
The planetarium is run by volunteers in Physics and offered free of charge to schools, scouts’ groups and community projects in the North East. In the last year we’ve taken the planetarium to over ~700 school aged children, and participated in events like Celebrate Science, where we gave shows to over 100 people per day, over 3 days.
The Columba-Hypatia Project in Cyprus we reached over 700 children, youth, teachers and members of the general public and our project was awarded the Science Engagement of the Year award by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and Falling Walls Foundation in 2018. Most importantly, it’s created friendships and bonds between children from different communities in Cyprus.
Learn more about how we work with our communities to make science accessible to all. delivering science programmes, activities and events which build on our excellent research and teaching.
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