Speakers Symposium 2024

I am an assistant professor at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry and at the Leiden Observatory. My group focuses on computational astrochemistry to unravel which molecules can be formed efficiently in the dense regions of the interstellar medium. I am particularly interested in the chemistry that takes place on the surface of ice-coated dust grains. I will talk about the molecules that form on the very cold ices that cover small dust grains floating around in the densest regions of the interstellar medium. In other words, about the physical chemistry (or chemical physics) that produces both simple species, like methane, water or carbon dioxide, and complex molecules that approach sugars and aminoacids. Finally, I will explain how experimental and computational results are complementary to each other and important ingredients for astrochemistry.