About Me

Hi, I'm Francesca, an astrophysicist from Malta, and I'm passionate about studying galaxies and their stars to learn more about our home in the Universe - the Milky Way. I graduated with a BSc. in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Malta, and am currently pursuing an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Astrophysics and Space Science (MASS), funded by an EMJM scholarship. After doing my first semester at the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’ in Italy, and my second semester at the University of Belgrade in Serbia, I am currently following third semester courses, and working on a research internship at the University of Belgrade in remote collaboration with the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, as well as Côte d'Azur University in France.

Research Interests

galactic dynamics - stellar populations - galaxy formation and evolution - stellar astrophysics - Milky Way archaeology - computational simulations for astrophysics - cosmology & dark matter

CV

A quick summary of my career so far. Click here if you would prefer to download my CV as a PDF.

Research Experience

  • “Identification of streams in the Galactic halo by using RR Lyrae as stellar tracers” Oct 2024 - present
    M.Sc. thesis, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata' / Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, University of Belgrade / Универзитет у Београду. Supervisors: Prof. Giuseppe Bono, Prof. Frederic Thevenin, Asst. Prof Stanislav Milosevic, Dr. Vittorio Braga, Dr. Michele Fabrizio
    We use a new catalog of RR Lyrae stars to characterize recently identified stellar streams observed within the Milky Way’s halo. Using their kinematic motions and spectroscopic observables, we investigate the 3D structure and origin of the stellar streams by further drawing a comparison with computational simulations of galactic mergers. Work on this project is still ongoing.

  • “A risk assessment on exposure to radon in residential environments in Malta” Jul 2023 - Sep 2023
    Research support assistant for the National Commission for the Protection from Ionising and Non-Ionising Radition, Malta
    In-depth assessment of the risk of lung cancer posed to the Maltese population by indoor radon gas concentrations in residential dwellings, including an in-depth review of the literature as well as numerical computations using statistics on Maltese demographics and local trends in smoking habits and formal presentation of the findings to the Commission.

  • “The stellar populations trapped at the L4/L5 Lagrange (corotation) points of a bar” Sep 2022 - Jun 2023
    B.Sc. thesis, University of Malta. Supervisors: Prof. Joseph Caruana, Prof. Victor Debattista
    Abstract: Bars are prevalent features in disc galaxies and play an important role in driving secular evolution, especially through resonances. Stars at corotation resonance with the bar are known to librate around the stable Lagrange points (L4, L5). Here, we investigate the properties of corotating stars by performing an orbital frequency analysis on a subsample of stars in an N-body+SPH galactic simulation to obtain corotating and non-corotating subsamples. Trends in variation of ages and metallicities are investigated by sectioning the galactic plane into radial and azimuthal bins, and comparing the properties of both categories of stars within each bin, using a K-S test to check statistical significance. We confirm the existence of important systematic differences between the distributions of the ages and metallicities of the corotating stars with respect to the surrounding non-corotating stars. Trends in age are found to vary radially and suggest that corotating stars are dragged away from the corotation radius in both directions, whereas the metallicities of stars in corotation are found to be distinctly higher.

  • Galactic simulations research project Jul 2021 - Sep 2021
    University of Malta / University of Central Lancashire joint Galactic Dynamics Group
    Processing and analysis of a galactic simulation using Python, particularly PyNbody and AGAMA packages. Tasks included rendering galactic components, extracting statistics from data to produce plots, and identifying and analyzing trends.

Education

Selected Seminars, Workshops & International Conferences

Contributed Seminars & Talks

Attended Seminars & Talks

Honors & Awards

  • ICPS Participation Fee Waiver Award for attending ICPS 2024.
  • Erasmus Mundus Joint Master (EMJM) scholarship for MASS (2023 entrance).
  • Certificate of Merit in recognition of high quality of research in undergraduate thesis (2022– 2023).
  • Dean’s List for the Faculty of Science in recognition of academic achievement during academic years 2021– 2022.
  • Dean’s List for the Faculty of Science in recognition of academic achievement during academic years 2022– 2023.

Technical Strengths

  • Programming: Python, Java
  • Software & Tools: LaTeX, Linux OS, SQL, Mathematica, Excel
  • Languages: Maltese (Native), English (Native), German (B1), Italian (A1)

Mentorship & Teaching Experience

  • Summer term English and Maltese reading teacher at Maria Regina College Qawra Primary School (St. Paul’s Bay, Malta, Jul– Sep 2022).
  • Volunteer tutor at Dar Merhba Bik, helping residing children with studies and homework (Hal Balzan, Malta, Oct 2017– Apr 2018).

Outreach & Volunteering

  • Volunteer representative of the Institute for Space Sciences and Astronomy (ISSA) at the open day for secondary schools organised by the University of Malta (Msida, Malta, Dec 2022).
  • Volunteer o.b.o the Department of Mathematics running the department’s stand with mathematics-based games at the Science in the City festival (Valletta, Malta, Sep 2022).
  • Environmental activist volunteer o.b.o the European Solidarity Corps, working in collaboration with the Municipality of Geraci Siculo, to preserve the village’s open spaces and create an environmental awareness campaign aimed towards the locals (Sicily, Italy, Jul– Aug 2022).
  • Mediterranean Youth Mathematical Championship (MYMC) participant as part of the Maltese team (Jun 2019) (featured on University of Malta Newspoint and Times of Malta).
  • Childcare support volunteer at the Ursuline Sisters’ Orphanage (Sliema, Malta, Jun– Sep 2018).
  • Volunteer camp leader o.b.o the Little Sisters of The Poor, responsible for organizing and leading activities, entertainment and field trips during a summer day camp for children (Armagh, Northern Ireland, Jun– Jul 2018).

CV last updated: 29 Oct 2024

Resources for Aspiring Astrophycisists

Early on in my career, I found the vast world of academia quite intimidating and somewhat confusing to navigate (sometimes I still do). Here, I have collected some resources which I had come across during my searches and may be helpful to any aspiring scientists who find themselves in a similar position. Most are centered around physics research, with a special focus on opportunities available to Maltese students looking to pursue a career in astrophysics.