Nami Mowlavi

I am a Senior Research Scientist at the Astronomy Department of the University of Geneva (Switzerland). My research focuses on stars and on their variability, with studies related  to, among other astrophysics topics, the structural and chemical evolution of stars, the structural and chemical evolution of the Galaxy and of extra-galactic systems, and the determination of distances in the universe.

I completed my PhD in 1995 at the "Université Libre de Bruxelles" in Belgium on the study of the structural and chemical evolution of low- (like the Sun) and intermediate-mass stars, and joined the stellar evolution group at the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland as a post-doc researchers. I then successively joined the ESA space missions INTEGRAL (high-energy objects) from 2000 to 2007, and Gaia (the one billion stars surveyor) from 2007 till now (involved in the analysis of variable stars). Now, I am getting involved in the future ESA PLATO mission whose aim is to detect Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars, with a launch expected at the end of 2026.  

We live in an era of large-scale astronomical surveys, which provide a wealth of data for all fields of research in astrophysics, and in particular for the above-mentioned fields. Exceptional discoveries are allowed from these large projects, and it is a joy to be able to contribute to, and benefit from, these scientific community efforts in discovering the secrets of our Universe.