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Sebastián López
Associate Professor
Background & Contact Information
Ph.D. Astrophysics (Dr. rer. nat.), Universität Hamburg, Germany, 1999
Research Topics:Galaxy formation and evolution, Inter- and Circumgalactic Medium, gravitational lensing, reionization of the universe, fundamental constants.
Areas of interest
Professor López studies the gaseous material between galaxies, host of ~90% of all atoms in the universe, by probing this gas in absorption through different cosmological epochs. Prof. Lopez is thus contributing to decipher how present-day galaxies have formed and evolved out of this gas.
Biography
Profesor López obtained a Bachellor degree in Physics from Universidad de Chile (FCFM) and a MSc in Physics (1995) and a PhD in Astrophysics (1999) from Universität Hamburg in Germany. After two postdoctoral positions at Universität Hamburg and Universidad de Chile, he became Faculty at the Astronomy Department of Universidad de Chile in 2002. Since then Prof. Lopez teaches grad and undergrad courses, while leading various international projects, including an ESO Large Programme. He is currently leading the project Gravitational-arc Tomography, intended to unveil the spatial and kinematic structure of the circumgalactic medium around high-redshift galaxies. In parallel, Prof. Lopez has contributed to the establishment and development in Chile of the Gemini-South Observatory and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (today Vera C. Rubin Observatory) and has also served on various committees for the development of Chilean astronomy, most notably as president of the National Telescope time Committee (CNTAC) for three years.
Courses, Projects, Recent Publications
- Gravitational-arc tomography: ESO and Nature
- Scientific Publications
- CV
- Undergraduate courses: Introduction to Newtonian Physics, General Astronomy, Interdisciplinary Module.
- Graduate courses: Observational Astronomy, The Intergalactic Medium.
