I am a Colombian astronomer investigating Galaxies, AGNs and Quasars in the Epoch of Reionization. I got my PhD from the International Max Planck Research School in Heidelberg, Germany (IMPRS-HD) program.
Now, I am a postdoc at the University of California, Los Angeles working in the team of Prof. Tommaso Treu.
News:
It has been a great journey with JWST since its launch on December 25th, 2022. I participated in one of the most exciting finding so far probing the large-scale structure around a quasar in the Epoch of Reionization, look at all those galaxies!
Find out more details about the first images observed with JWST and the science behind them as I describe it in this
Podcast.
Read more about the research I will do with JWST
Go!
En Español: Mira este video donde charlamos un poco sobre el JWST, su importancia, instrumentos y las siguientes
décadas de exploración espacial. Ver Video.
From the Education Program of @RECAstronomia
— Dra. Sofía Rojas (@sofiastrojas) February 12, 2024
and with the help of @Astro4Dev we are going to bring astronomy to rural schools in Colombia!! 🇨🇴
If you know rural schools or want to learn more about our project, go to our website: https://t.co/xrBGutLXRL
A long time ago, in a country far far away... I was a little girl watching Cosmos and
stargazing with my telescope. Becoming an astronomer like Carl Sagan seemed surreal
as back then I could not have achieved this dream in Colombia.
When I turned 16, I left my home and went to
the U.S. to prepare my university applications and fulfill my dream. I obtained a B.S. in Astronomy and
a B.S. in Physics at
The University of Texas at Austin.
I then moved to Germany and got my Ph.D.
from Heidelberg University and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
(MPIA).
I love doing Astronomy research! Now I am continuing my career as a postdoc at UCLA.
What are the details of my journey and my other
hobbies? Well, it all started with...
I have lead different projects and telescope proposals focused on studying galaxies and quasars in the high-redshift universe (z ≳ 6), or when the Universe was less than a Billion years old.
I have worked with different space-based and ground-based telescopes covering the optical/near-IR and radio wavelengths. Here is a quick look of the JWST Cy1 Proposal that I Co-PI with Dr. Micaela Bagley to confirm and study the ionization potential of a set of z ~ 9 galaxies.
Education | Year |
---|---|
Ph.D. in Astronomy from Heidelberg University, Germany | 2019 - 2023 |
B.S. Astronomy and B.S. Physics The University of Texas at Austin |
2015 - 2019 |
I absolutley love telescopes and observing!
I have been very lucky to go on many observing trips and
learn to use a great variety of instruments. From space-based to optical/IR ground-based
to radio telescopes, I enjoy observing with them all.
As an observational astronomer I usually write a research proposal, get it
accepted (rejections are ok too), go to the telescope to take the data and learn to be sleep deprived
for the first few nights (although many times a telescope operator does the observations for me),
and finally do the science!
This process is one of the main motivators
I have to do astronomy.
One of my passions is bringing awareness about astronomy to the Colombian community, as well as showcasing the work
Colombian astronomers do. I am part of the "Red de Estudiantes
Colombianos de Astronomía - RECA" (Network of Colombian
Astronomy Students).
We build a lot of programs for Colombian students in schools and
universities wanting to study and do research in Astronomy.
Here are a compilation of resources based on my personal experience.
Always happy to chat!