Tutors
| Henri Boffin | I am an astronomer at ESO Garching, Germany, working in the User Support Department, where I supports FORS2, MUSE, and SPHERE and am part of the small team that schedules the La Silla Paranal telescopes. I am also the Instrument Scientist of the Exposure Time Calculator 2.0 for the ESO La Silla Paranal instruments and the Operations Scientist of the FORS-Up project. Previously, I was an ESO Paranal Operations Staff Astronomer and the FORS2 and HARPS instrument scientist. I have much observing experience with EFOSC2 and HARPS, and work with the team that is operating PLATOSpec. For my science, I am working mostly on interacting binary stars, exoplanets, as well as open clusters. In addition to my PhD in Astronomy, I have a diploma of journalist and have done much outreach activities. I also devised a course on "writing and communicating your science", which I have given in many universities or institutes. |
| Abel de Burgos | |
| Camila de Sa Freitas | I am an ESO research fellow with duties at Paranal since Dec 2023, with the UT4 -- the coolest UT, the one with lasers. Operationally, I work with HAWKI, ERIS, and MUSE, focusing on projects for the last one. Scientifically, I am interested in galaxy evolution, lately focusing on processes related to the stellar bar. I have developed the first methodology to measure the dynamical formation of stellar bars in nearby galaxies, and have been investigating which processes are related to the bar formation. I enjoy reading and have joined a reading challenge this year (looks like I will be the one losing it). I also like hiking, travelling, and yoga, but you will mostly find me spending time with my dog. |
| Anna Pala | I'm an ESO staff astronomer working within the User Support Department at the ESO headquarters in Garching, where I provide support to users of the VLT and VLTI instruments MATISSE, UVES and GRAVITY. I'm originally from Italy, where I studied for my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. I later moved to England, where I obtained my PhD from the University of Warwick in 2018. Afterwards I was a Fellow at ESO in Garching and then at the European Space Agency in Madrid. My research focuses on the study of accreting white dwarfs, binaries in which matter from a companion star is transferred onto a white dwarf. I use multi-wavelength data from space- and ground-based observatories to obtain a full insight into the physical mechanisms driving their evolution, which is key to unveil their connection with Type Ia Supernovae and constrain the evolution of all mass exchanging binaries. |
| Thallis Pessi | I am an ESO Postdoctoral Fellow with duties at the Paranal Observatory. I am originally from Brazil, where I completed my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Physics. I then moved to Chile, where I obtained my PhD in Astrophysics. My main research interests are transient events resulting from cosmic explosions, particularly core-collapse supernovae — the dramatic end-of-life stage of massive stars. I am interested in how they evolve, how they interact with their environment, and which progenitor stars generate them. To study this, I have used data from various telescopes (such as Gemini, VLT, and HST) and transient surveys (such as ASAS-SN and ATLAS). For several years, I have been part of the ePESSTO collaboration, a “supernova hunt” effort to classify recently discovered transient events using the NTT in La Silla. At Paranal, I serve as a support astronomer for UT4 of the VLT. I am also the Instrument Fellow for MUSE, an advanced IFU instrument mounted at the Nasmyth focus of that telescope. In my free time, I enjoy different forms of art, such as visiting museums, reading, and going to the cinema. I’m also a big fan of podcasts, and I like to work out and take long walks outdoors. |
| Maria Jose (Cote) Rain | Hola! I’m María José “Coté” Rain—born and raised in Chile and professionally allergic to boring stars. I did my BSc and MSc at the Universidad de Concepción (south of Chile), then crossed the Atlantic with an ANID scholarship to earn my PhD at the Università degli Studi di Padova in Italy. Right after graduating I joined ESO as a Fellow, where for the past three years I’ve spent nearly 240 nights supporting instruments on UT1 and UT2. I’m Instrument Scientist #2 for FLAMES and Instrument Fellow for FORS2 and MOONS. Between observing runs, I champion Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives —because good science needs every voice. My research hunts the rebels of stellar evolution: exotic stars in Galactic clusters. I focus on systems that don’t play by single-star rules—especially Blue Stragglers—using photometry, spectroscopy, and detailed chemical abundances to piece together their histories. Off the mountain I trade photons for endorphins: I’m very into hardcore outdoor activities and I’m currently training for my first Ironman 70.3. |
| Linda Schmidtobreik | |
| Organizers | |
| Leslie Kiefer | I am the Librarian at ESO, and I also work for the Science Office, helping with the organization of meetings and International Conferences. On the Library side, I work mostly on maintaining tools to provide metrics that help to assess ESO’s scientific impact, along with the usual Library services, like providing access to publications and other scientific content. One of my future projects is to create a historical archive with the documents and artifacts available for the most part at La Silla & Paranal, and to tell the history of astronomy in Chile. So far, I’ve helped with the organization of many conferences and two La Silla Schools, and I am looking forward to the 2026 version! On a personal side, I love dogs, reading, traveling & horror movies. |
| Elyar Sedaghati | I am an ESO staff astronomer at Paranal, originally from Iran/Armenia, although I have spent most of my adult life in the UK and Germany. I studied natural sciences at Cambridge University, and then worked in investment banking for a few years, both in London and Frankfurt. I then moved back to science and obtained my Masters and PhD in Berlin, Germany. On Paranal, I am responsible for the FORS2 and ESPRESSO instruments, as well as being involved with the development of the ANDES spectrograph for the ELT. My scientific interests are detection and characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres, as well as testing planet formation theories. I speak English, Spanish and Persian, as well as some German and Armenian. When not busy with Paranal or science or my dog, I like to either go up the mountains for skiing or head to the coast for some surfing, which makes Santiago the ideal place to live. |
