Aurora Abbondanza

PhD Student in the “Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity” department

What is your academic education?

• PhD Student in the “Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity” department
• Bachelor’s in Physics, Sapienza University of Rome
• Master’s in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Sapienza University of Rome

How and when did you choose to do physics?

I decided to study physics when I was in my final year of high school, after feeling that I would like to pursue a career in research. I had been passionate about astrophysics since I was a kid: my family has a holiday house in the small hometown of the astronomer Cassini, and I used to go to the observatory and to conferences there.

Can you please describe your research?

My work focuses on studying signals from massive black hole binaries, pairs of black holes (some of them hundreds of millions of times more massive than our Sun) that can be found at the center of galaxies. When they merge, they produce a “gravitational wave”, that can be measured by current instruments and can tell us a lot about the characteristics of these very fascinating objects.

In the next decade, a new interferometer called LISA will be launched in space. My research focuses on testing if our theoretical models of gravitational waves are accurate enough to understand the signals that LISA will measure.

Please let us know why you chose the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics for your research.

I chose the institute because it is one of the most important research centers for gravitational physics around the world, with many of the most expert researchers in the field working here. It is also a very nice work environment, with a lot of people exchanging opinions and giving insightful scientific (and non-scientific) advice.

What would you recommend to a young woman wanting to start a career in physics?

It’s a beautiful field that will allow you to work on what you are passionate about, with a degree of independence and autonomy which is rare for jobs outside of research. It’s very rewarding to try to come up with solutions for your research questions, and you are basically always solving problems! This may be a little challenging sometimes, because the majority of a physicist’s time is spent not understanding what’s wrong, trying and failing. It’s very important that this does not become a reason for questioning your own value as a scientist (which is something that I think women are sadly more likely to do). Research is mainly about not knowing (yet)!

What is your vision for women and girls in science in 20 years?

Even if big improvements have been made in the last decades, women in physics are still a minority, and I would really like this to change, as I think a more diverse environment is always preferable and more fulfilling than a less diverse one. I would also like to see more women as group leaders and, in general, in more relevant leadership positions, and I am sure this will only happen once we will focus more on serious actions to make the academic career vs personal life not a “forced” choice anymore.