About Me

I am a full professor of experimental astrophysics at Leiden Observatory, Leiden University. My research centers around the use of light to remotely study the universe including our own Earth. Many of my research efforts involve the polarization aspects of light. While our eyes and electronic detectors are not sensitive to the polarization aspect of electromagnetic waves, we can build instruments that measure the polarization. The polarization of light tells us about anisotropies in the area where the light is generated or where it passes through before we detect it. Measuring the polarization of light can thereby tell us about properties such as geometries, temperature gradients, magnetic and electric fields in remote objects.

My current research interests can be grouped into four areas: Exoplanetary systems, remote sensing of aerosol and trace gases, solar physics, and interdisciplinary research on wide range of topics from Earth science to biomedical imaging.

I teach students from the BSc to the PhD levels on a variety of subjects. Regular courses include 'Astronomical Telescopes and Instruments' and 'Project Management for Scientists'. Student projects range from purely theoretical physics on the interaction of light with (anisotropic) matter to experimental measurements in the lab and observations with the world's largest telescope. My goal is to have students not only be able to reproduce what they have been tought, but to achieve a level of understanding and thinking such that they can create new knowledge.