I serve as a professor at the Department of Applied Mathematics of the Technical University of València (Universitat Politècnica de València) in València. Specifically, I am a fellow of the Institute for Multidisciplinary Mathematics.
From my office to Malvarrosa beach is but a ten-minute stroll. Yet this city offers far more… Do have a look here.
Additionally, I hold affiliations with Reinhard Genzel’s group at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, serve as an associate at the Higgs Centre For Theoretical Physics in Edinburgh, and hold an honorary professorship at the University of La Habana.
I am also visiting faculty at the Academy of Mathematics and System Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Beijing, where I lead a research group in Gravitational Waves.
Regarding my academic journey: I completed my five-year degree in theoretical physics at València, comprising 22 written examinations. Subsequently, I relocated to Heidelberg to pursue (first a Master’s, then) a PhD in theoretical astrophysics, focusing specifically on nonlinear dynamics within dense stellar systems and the cosmic evolution of supermassive black holes.
Later, I joined the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam (the “Albert Einstein Institute”, or AEI) to research gravitational waves. Following a brief tenure of about one year in Barcelona studying protoplanetary disk formation and evolution, I accepted a Senior Scientist position back at AEI in 2008. There, I secured funding and established my own “Gravitational Wave” research group, which I led until 2016.
I obtained my German habilitation from the University of Potsdam in 2016, followed by a docent title at the Technical University of Berlin. This qualification entitles me to teach and formally supervise astronomy PhD candidates at the Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik.
My principal research focus has been gravitational waves since 2004. These are indeed halcyon days (years) for me following the 2015 detection (and it seems nearly everyone has now felt “the call of the wave”). My satisfaction stems not “merely” from finally having data, but because these observations align remarkably with our predictions.
More recently, my interests have shifted toward pure mathematics, particularly geometry and differential topology. This transition will be gradual rather than abrupt.
As a final observation: during my student days, I would often peruse academics’ web pages when research progress stalled – a frequent occurrence (as remains the case). I was invariably disheartened to find many describing themselves as problem solvers. Now, as an established academic who still considers himself a perpetual student, I should like to state that I prefer to characterise myself as a “problem finder” rather than a problem solver – in hopes that some younger scholar might read this. It rather aligns with the adage: “You’re only young once, but you can remain immature indefinitely.” This constitutes my life’s aspiration.
One final note: Why is this webpage in English?
The splendid charcoal portrait was rendered by my dear friend Matt Benacquista. The photograph depicting me feigning productivity whilst wearing a tie was captured by extraterrestrial means.