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Paul Groot studies compact binary stars and their role as gravitational wave sources. Compact binaries, which consist of stellar remnants like white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes paired with ordinary stars, are critical for understanding the physical phenomena influenced by extreme gravity, temperatures, and densities. They contribute to the population of bursts of gravitational waves, detected by instruments like Advanced Virgo and LIGO on the ground, with future detections anticipated from the LISA satellite. As a co-founder and head of the Department of Astrophysics at Radboud University, Groot has significantly influenced astronomical research. He was previously the chair of the board for NOVA, the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy, and initiated the European Galactic Plane Surveys project to map the Milky Way. He serves as the Project Scientist for the X-Shooter spectrograph at ESO's Very Large Telescope and is the Principal Investigator for the BlackGEM array in Chile, which aims to detect optical counterparts to gravitational wave sources. Since 2018, he has split his time between Radboud University and the University of Cape Town, holding the NRF-funded SARChI Chair for Fast Transients in Gravitational Wave Astronomy. Additionally, he will take on the role of the Dutch scientific delegate in the Council of the European Southern Observatory from March 1, 2025.
Radboud University • Nijmegen, Netherlands
Leading research in Astrophysics, specializing in the study of compact binary stars and gravitational waves.
Applies to Research Master's in Linguistics and Communication Sciences (Centre for Language Studies/Department of Language and Communication).