Tutors
| Martina Baratella | I am an ESO Fellow in Chile with duties in Paranal, where I support operations on UT1 and UT2, in particular I closely follow operations of ESPRESSO, 4MOST and MOONS (one of the latest additions to VLT suite of instruments). Being an UT1 and UT2 support astronomer allowed me to also operate FORS2, KMOS, UVES and FLAMES (plus VISIR, now retired). Before joining ESO, I was a post-doc at Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics in Potsdam, Germany, where I arrived after getting my PhD in Astronomy at University of Padova, Italy. For my science, I am a passionate stellar spectroscopist with expertise in atmospheric parameters and abundance determination. I am specialized in the analysis of young and active FGK dwarf stars, I love Galactic Open Clusters and lately also I am very interested in understanding the star-planet connection from the stellar chemical composition point of view. Outside work, I love watching animes and reading mangas, travel, and trying all types of different cuisines. I am looking forward to meeting you in this exciting school! |
| Henri Boffin | I am an astronomer at ESO Garching, Germany, working in the User Support Department, where I supports FORS2, MUSE, and SPHERE and am part of the small team that schedules the La Silla Paranal telescopes. I am also the Instrument Scientist of the Exposure Time Calculator 2.0 for the ESO La Silla Paranal instruments and the Operations Scientist of the FORS-Up project. Previously, I was an ESO Paranal Operations Staff Astronomer and the FORS2 and HARPS instrument scientist. I have much observing experience with EFOSC2 and HARPS, and work with the team that is operating PLATOSpec. For my science, I am working mostly on interacting binary stars, exoplanets, as well as open clusters. In addition to my PhD in Astronomy, I have a diploma of journalist and have done much outreach activities. I also devised a course on "writing and communicating your science", which I have given in many universities or institutes. |
| Célia Desgrange | |
| Alonso Luna | |
| Michaël Marsset | I am an ESO staff astronomer in the Back-end Operations Department in Garching, where I am in charge of data reduction pipelines for instruments such as X-shooter, SPHERE, MUSE, and SOXS. My career has taken me to several institutions around the world, including in France (my home country), Canada, Spain, Northern Ireland, the United States, and Chile, where I spent four years as an ESO Fellow at Paranal Observatory. My scientific passion is meteorites, and my research focuses on identifying their asteroid parent bodies using some of the world's largest optical and near-infrared telescopes. These facilities allow me to measure the reflectance spectra, three-dimensional shapes, and densities of asteroids. By combining these observations, I seek to establish genetic links between meteorites and their parent asteroids, helping to reconstruct the original compositional gradient of the Solar System's protoplanetary disk. Outside of work, I enjoy traveling, music, volleyball, swimming, and (free)diving. Above all, I love sharing my enthusiasm for space rocks and science. I look forward to meeting you at the La Silla Summer School! |
| Hannah Osborne | |
| Joanne Rojas | I am a PhD student in Astrophysics at Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile, where I work on the detection and characterization of giant gaseous exoplanets. My research combines high-precision radial velocities and astrometry to better understand the properties and dynamics of planetary systems. I am also part of the observing team for PLATOSpec, a high-resolution spectrograph installed on the 1.5-m telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory. Before joining the PLATOSpec team, I worked as an instrument operator for FIDEOS on the 1-m telescope, which gave me the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with astronomical observations and instrumentation. Outside academia, I love spending time with my cats, going to the gym, and trying good food. I am particularly a big fan of completos because, honestly, is there a better way to spend an afternoon? I am looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing this exciting experience with you! |
| Organizers | |
| Leslie Kiefer | I am the Librarian at ESO, and I also work for the Science Office, helping with the organization of meetings and International Conferences. On the Library side, I work mostly on maintaining tools to provide metrics that help to assess ESO’s scientific impact, along with the usual Library services, like providing access to publications and other scientific content. One of my future projects is to create a historical archive with the documents and artifacts available for the most part at La Silla & Paranal, and to tell the history of astronomy in Chile. So far, I’ve helped with the organization of many conferences and two La Silla Schools, and I am looking forward to the 2026 version! On a personal side, I love dogs, reading, traveling & horror movies. |
| Elyar Sedaghati | I am an ESO staff astronomer at Paranal, originally from Iran/Armenia, although I have spent most of my adult life in the UK and Germany. I studied natural sciences at Cambridge University, and then worked in investment banking for a few years, both in London and Frankfurt. I then moved back to science and obtained my Masters and PhD in Berlin, Germany. On Paranal, I am responsible for the FORS2 and ESPRESSO instruments, as well as being involved with the development of the ANDES spectrograph for the ELT. My scientific interests are detection and characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres, as well as testing planet formation theories. I speak English, Spanish and Persian, as well as some German and Armenian. When not busy with Paranal or science or my dog, I like to either go up the mountains for skiing or head to the coast for some surfing, which makes Santiago the ideal place to live. |
