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Mónica Rubio
Full Professor
Training and contact
Ph.D. in Astrophysics and Space Sciences, 1992, U. of Paris, France
Research Topics:Physics of Interstellar Medium, Molecular Clouds, Star Formation and Magellanic Clouds
Area of interest
My main research focuses on the properties and physical conditions of the interstellar medium and the process of star formation in low-metallicity systems. In particular, I study the Magellanic Clouds, as their proximity provides a unique laboratory for investigating molecular clouds in galaxies with varying interstellar medium properties. I have extended my research to local dwarf galaxies like the WLM, with even lower metallicities, to study molecular clouds and star formation in the early universe, when the interstellar medium contained few heavy elements and dust grains.
Biography
Mónica Rubio holds a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Paris in France and is a Full Professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Chile. She served as Director of the Astronomy Program (2007-2014) and Vice President of the CONICYT Council in 2019.
Dr. Rubio has a solid curriculum vitae and a worldwide reputation. As an expert in star formation and the study of molecular regions, she has given numerous lectures at international conferences in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Latin America. During her scientific career, she has spent more than 700 nights observing at observatories in Chile, as well as with the Hubble and Herschel space telescopes, and NASA's SOFIA instrument. Using the ALMA radio telescope, she discovered how dwarf galaxies form their new stars, a discovery published in the prestigious journal Nature and widely reported in the international press.
Currently, she is the President of the Chilean Astronomical Society and Vice-President of Division H: Interstellar Medium and Galaxies, of the International Astronomical Union.
Dr. Rubio has a solid curriculum vitae and a worldwide reputation. As an expert in star formation and the study of molecular regions, she has given numerous lectures at international conferences in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Latin America. During her scientific career, she has spent more than 700 nights observing at observatories in Chile, as well as with the Hubble and Herschel space telescopes, and NASA's SOFIA instrument. Using the ALMA radio telescope, she discovered how dwarf galaxies form their new stars, a discovery published in the prestigious journal Nature and widely reported in the international press.
Currently, she is the President of the Chilean Astronomical Society and Vice-President of Division H: Interstellar Medium and Galaxies, of the International Astronomical Union.
Courses, Projects, Recent Publications
- General Astronomy (general)
- Topics in Astronomy (general)
- Introduction to Physics (general)
- Radio Astronomy (specialized)
- Directed Research (specialized)
