Profile
Jacob Maresca
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About Me:
I am an astronomy PhD student that uses ‘strong gravitational lensing’ to learn more about distant galaxies. When I am not working, I enjoy bouldering and practicing Taekwondo.
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Read more
My research focuses on strong gravitational lensing and how we can use this to learn more about galaxies. Strong gravitational lensing is caused by the fact that very massive objects, such as galaxies, bend light as it passes by them. If you have two galaxies that are along your line of sight, the light from the background galaxy becomes distorted and we can see several images of the galaxy on the sky (see the picture for an example!).
I use this effect to study the properties of very distant galaxies, as not only does the light become distorted by the galaxy, but it also becomes magnified, allowing us to see even more detail.
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My Typical Day:
I wake up at 8 am and get ready to go to work. When I arrive at the office I will check my computer to see if my experiments have finished running and to be sure that nothing has gone wrong. If I have some new results, then I will write some computer code to analyse them and create graphs to see if anything interesting has shown up. When I have some interesting results I can start writing about them to share with other scientists. I will often discuss my ideas or things I am finding difficult with the people I share my office with, or go and speak with my supervisor to get their input. I go home at 5 pm most days.
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Education:
Edgbarrow School
Saffron Walden County High School
University of Sussex
University of Nottingham
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Qualifications:
GCSEs: Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English, French, German, RE, Geography, Electronics
A-Levels: Physics, Chemistry, Religion & Ethics
Foundation Degree: Physics
University Degree: MPhys Physics with Astrophysics
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Work History:
I have had several jobs, but none have been directly related to what I do now. I have worked as a shop assistant, waiter/pot washer, and warehouse assistant. I was lucky enough to have two internships whilst I completed my degree. The first was developing a computer program to analyse the results of a materials science experiment at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and the second was designing and building a 3D turbulence probe to go in the nose-cone of an airplane that was used as a flying atmospheric science laboratory at the Facility for Airborn Atmospheric Measurement.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Relaxed, adventurous, curious
What did you want to be after you left school?
An architect
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Yes, sometimes I was too chatty
Who is your favourite singer or band?
August Burns Red
What's your favourite food?
Mussels
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To be happy, healthy and wealthy!
Tell us a joke.
With great power comes a great electricity bill
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