I am a PhD student under InterCat at Aarhus University, working to determine whether the molecular building blocks of life can form in interstellar space

I completed my integrated Master’s degree in Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Leicester in 2020. My studies focused on Astrophysics with a range of topics from planetary Physics to large-scale structures. The subject of finding organics and signs of life in the universe has always had a special interest to me and as a PhD student under InterCat I will be able to pursue this further. 

I have had previous experience with spectroscopic techniques and I am planning to utilize this at InterCat. I have been helping to design a new vacuum chamber that will have infrared spectroscopy capabilities. It will be used in conjunction with other surface science techniques to investigate the formation and subsequent increase in complexity of life relevant complex organic molecules. While the new chamber is being made I have been working with amino acids and DNA bases by exposing them to different atoms and finding what effect this has on them.