Alceste Bonanos
Welcome! In September 2009, I began working as an Assistant Researcher at the Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics at the National Observatory of Athens. Previously, I spent 1 year at the Space Telescope Science Institute as a Giacconi Fellow and 3 years at the Carnegie Institution of Washington (DTM), as the Vera Rubin Fellow. I obtained my PhD in Astronomy in 2005 from Harvard University. The title of my thesis was “Accurate Distances to Nearby Galaxies”. My thesis advisor was Kris Stanek.
Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics
National Observatory of Athens
I. Metaxa & Vas. Pavlou St.
Palaia Penteli, Athens GR-15236 GREECE
Tel.: +30 210 8109177
Fax: +30 210 8040453
bonanos [at] astro [dot] noa [dot] gr
My research focuses on the most massive stars in the Local Universe, with the goal to understand their evolution. Specifically, I use eclipsing binaries to probe their fundamental parameters (masses, radii) and study their infrared properties. I am also working on calibrating the extragalactic distance scale, using eclipsing binaries as distance indicators. Finally, I am interested in studying the origin and nature of hypervelocity stars.
I am currently supervising a postdoctoral researcher, Norberto Castro. I have previously supervised two masters students: Eugenia Koumpia and Kostas Markakis (MSc 2011).
Check out the video with subtitles (thanks Roll Productions!) and articles (Καθημερινή, Τα Νέα, ΓΓΕΤ) on the Greek L’Oreal-UNESCO prize for Women in Science, which I was awarded in December 2011.
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