Rafael Porto

Theoretical Astroparticle Physics, Cosmology, Gravitational Waves

Rafael Porto became Lead Scientist at DESY in 2020. Porto’s multidisciplinary research programme lies at the interface between astroparticle physics, cosmology and gravitational-wave science. He focuses on using novel tools and ideas from particle physics to tackle the two-body problem in gravity, the nature of compact objects, the dynamics of large-scale structures and the physics of the early universe. In particular, Porto’s work will enable the study of black holes in Einstein’s theory of gravity, the properties of nuclear matter under unique conditions in neutron stars as well as searches for physics beyond the standard model, through gravitational wave ‘precision data’ with present and future detectors (such as the Einstein Telescope). 
 
A particle physicist by training, and originally from Montevideo (Uruguay), Porto graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007 with a PhD in physics. He then went on to post-doctoral positions at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, and afterwards a joint appointment between the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and Columbia University. Before coming to DESY — first as a senior staff scientist in 2019 —  he was a faculty member and Simons/FAPESP Young Investigator at the ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research in Sao Paulo."
 

Academic career

Since 2020 Lead Scientist in the Astroparticle Physics Division, DESY in Hamburg
Since 2020 Principal Investigator, Cluster of Excellence “Quantum Universe”, University of Hamburg
2019-2020 Staff scientist. Astro-Particle Physics Division, DESY in Hamburg
Since 2019 ERC Consolidator Grant: "Precision Gravity: From the LHC to LISA"
2015-2020 Associate staff scientist, ICTP Trieste, Italy
2015-2018 Simons-Foundation/FAPESP Young Investigator, ICTP-SAIFR, Brazil
2015-2018 Faculty member. ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research (ICTP-SAIFR), Sao Paulo, Brazil
2010-2013 Membership, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton NJ, USA
2010-2013 Postdoctoral fellowship, Columbia University NYC, USA
2007-2010 Postdoctoral fellowship, UC Santa Barbara and Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
2003-2007 PhD in Physics. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 
2003 Licenciatura (BSc) & Master (MSc) en Física, Universidad de la República, Uruguay