The Genesis of Planets

Group at MPIA

Research Group Members


Matías Gárate, Post-doc, 2020-2023


I am from Chile. I did my bachelor and master in Astronomy at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile with Jorge Cuadra, and my PhD at the Ludwig-Maximiliams-Universität with Til Birnstiel as my supervisor. For my research I study the coupled evolution of gas and dust using numerical simulations. I focus on modeling high dust-to-gas ratio environments such as dead zones, icelines, and photo-evaporative disks.

In my free time I like to read fiction, play videogames, and make digital 3D art.

Timmy Delage, PhD Student, 2019-2023


I am from France where I did my Diplôme d'Ingénieur. I then went to the UK at Imperial College London where I did my MSc in Physics and I am now a PhD student at MPIA. My PhD project aims to investigate the diverse origins of the sub-structures observed in protoplanetary disks. To address this topic, I am building hydrodynamic and (ideal/non-ideal) magneto-hydrodynamic models coupled with gas and dust evolution. From those models, I am generating synthetic observations that I am comparing to current multi-wavelength (from optical to millimetre) observations from e.g. ALMA or VLT/SPHERE. Doing this comparison is key in refining the current interpretation of observations and understanding the first steps of planet formation.

In my free time, you will find me either bouldering or playing basketball.

Nicolás Kurtovic, PhD Student, 2019-2023


Since I was a child I have wondered about our universe and our origins. My researching experience has been mainly in exoplanets and protoplanetary disks, and I hope I can contribute to better understand where everything surrounding us came from.

I also love cats.

Jochen Stadler, Master Student, 2020-2021


I am from a small Franconian town in northern Bavaria where my family owns a restaurant. I studied physics at the University of Heidelberg with a focus on environmental- and astrophysics. During my Master thesis on planet formation I studyed the effects pressure bumps have on the observational properties of protoplanetary disks, like their radius, luminosity or spectral index. In order to do this, I run dust-disk evolution models and perform radiative transfer calculations to obtain the properties of interest.

In my free time I like to meet friends, go running after a long day behind the desk or play a round of chess.

Max Ackermann, Bachelor Project, 2020


I studied Physics at the University of Heidelberg, with focus on astronomy. My thesis project is to simulate the impact of protoplanets on a circumstellar disk and compare them to observations.

For leisure I like drawing, painting and sculpting. Living on the countryside, I find my sportif compensation in running.

Other members

Dr. Christian Lenz (post-doctoral researcher), Nov. 2020-Dec. 2020.

Leon Marx (bachelor student, University of Heidelberg), Apr. 2021-Aug. 2021



Our Funding

The main funding of this group at MPIA is provided by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in the framework of the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award endowed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.