Manuela Zoccali

Full Professor, P. Universidad Católica de Chile

I am a Full Professor at the Institute of Astrophysics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where I have been a faculty member since 2004. Currently, I serve as Deputy Director of the Institute. My research focuses on stellar populations, with particular emphasis on the formation and evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy and its bulge component.



After completing my PhD at the University of Padova in 2000, I held postdoctoral positions at ESO in Germany and Princeton University in the USA. I have served as Director (2016-2019) and Deputy Director (2019-2024) of the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics. My research contributions include over 215 refereed publications that have received more than 15,000 citations.

I have had the privilege of supervising numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, contributing significantly to the development of astronomical research in Chile. I have led multiple FONDECYT research grants and was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011. In 2023, I received the Teaching Excellence Award (PRED) from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. I am also actively involved in outreach activities and am committed to promoting astronomy education and public engagement with science.

Here you can find my CV with more details, including grants and prizes, participation in conferences, outreach activities, among others:

Teaching

These are the courses I have teached as a full professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile:

Students and Postdoctoral Researchers

Here is a list of former graduate students and postdocs supervised by me, together with their current position.

Master students

  • Daniel Castillo (2008), now Academic Coordinator at the National Institute for Professional Training (INACAP in Spanish)
  • Faviola Molina (2008), now Data Specialist and Quality Control, ESO
  • Álvaro Rojas (2013), now assistant professor at USACH, Chile
  • Felipe Gran (2016), now Postdoc at Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France, [prize to the best PhD thesis at UC in 2022]
  • Julio Olivares (2020), accepted as postdocs at Observatorio di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
  • Rogelio Albarracín (2024), now PhD student at Univ. Heildeberg, Germany

PhD students

  • Anna Marino (2010), now Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow at Univ. Padua, Italy
  • Juan Carlos Beamín (2015), now Astronomy Science Communicator and Lecturer, Chile
  • Sérgio Vásquez (2017), now Curator of Astronomy Interactive Museum (part of MIM), Santiago, Chile
  • Javier Minniti (2021), now Postdoc at Johns Hopkins University, USA
  • Felipe Gran (2022), now Postdoc at Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France, [prize to the best PhD thesis at UC in 2022]
  • Camila Órdenes (2023), now Lecturer at University Federico Santa María, Santiago, Chile
  • Julio Olivares (due March 2025), accepted as postdocs at Observatorio di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

Postdocs

  • Dr. Carsten Weidner, now R+D Manager in the German Federal Administration, Germany
  • Dr. Alan Alves Brito, now professor at Univ. Federal Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
  • Dr. Karla Peña Ramírez, now senior specialist in observations at Vera Rubin Observatory, Chile
  • Dr. Luca Sbordone, now faculty at ESO-Chile
  • Dr. Sonia Duffau, now Outreach and diversity officer, AUI NRAO, Chile
  • Dr. Alvaro Rojas, now assistant professor at USACH, Chile
  • Dr. Rodrigo Contreras, now Astronomy Science Communicator and Lectureur, Chile
  • Dr. Michele De Leo, now postdoc at the University of Bologna, Italy
  • Dr. Scarlet Elgueta, now Fondecyt postdoc at USACH, Chile
  • Dr. Camila Órdenes, now Lecturer at University Federico Santa María, Santiago, Chile

Publications

A selection of some of my recent papers: