Anna Watts PhD , Gravitational wave astrophysics

Fellowship, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics

Hi, I'm Anna Watts and I studied PhD , Gravitational wave astrophysics within Mathematical Sciences at the University of Southampton.

I chose Southampton for my PhD because it is the leading group in the country for gravitational wave astrophysics, a emerging new field at the interface between astronomy and General Relativity.

I chose Southampton for my PhD because it is the leading group in the country for gravitational wave astrophysics, a emerging new field at the interface between astronomy and General Relativity. My studies focused on the vibrations of neutron stars, a promising source of gravitational waves.

My supervisor Professor Nils Andersson, a world leader in this area, was an enthusiastic mentor and encouraged my development as an independent researcher. The Southampton group takes your personal training very seriously. They closely monitor your progress and give you help where needed. You are actively encouarged to publish your work in the leading journals. In addition there are plenty of opportunities to travel and present your research at international conferences. My experiences at Southampton and the group's collaborative links got my career off to an excellent start.

After my Ph.D. I moved to Washington, DC, to take up a National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre. I now hold a fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich, Germany, where I am continuing my research into neutron star seismology.