Members

Senior Researcher of CSIC at the Institute for Astrophysical Research of Andalusia. He is founder and PI of the VHEGA Group at the institute and he represents the IAA in the CTA Consortium Board, the LST Steering Committee, and the MAGIC Collaboration Board, where the institute participates both in the construction (CTA), the commissioning (LST-CTA), and the scientific exploitation (LST-CTA and MAGIC). Agudo’s scientific specialty is focused on the Physics of relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei (in general), and blazars (in particular). This research is mainly conducted through observational approaches at all available spectral ranges, most of the times involving very high energy gamma ray observations, optical polarimetry, and millimeter wave and radio interferometric polarimetry. Regarding millimeter wave polarimetric studies, Agudo founded and currently leads the unique POLAMI International Collaboration at mm wavelengths in IRAM. He has supervised or is supervising 2 postdocs, 3 PhDs, and 3 Master theses, and has been invited dozens of times to present his line of research on recognized international conferences, not counting those that he has organized. Click here to go to Iván’s personal site.

I have been involved in the Astroparticle Physics field for more than 10 years in which I have worked for several of the major very-high-energy gamma-ray collaborations in the world: MAGIC, H.E.S.S., HAWC, SWGO, LST and CTA. I have played different roles within these collaborations, from which I would like to highlight my leadership in galactic physics (coordinator of MAGIC, SWGO and LST) and software (Deputy coordinator of the Analysis Software of LST, Deep Learning coordinator of MAGIC, Analysis Quality Assurance referee of MAGIC and member of the MAGIC Software Board). I also belong to panels like the TAC of MAGIC or Physics Committee of the LST. My scientific interests are focused on the study of Cosmic Ray acceleration through measurements of the non-thermal spectrum of galactic sources, particularly those powered by pulsars and other compact objects, and their contribution to the Cosmic Ray flux measured at the Earth. For more information about me, please visit my webpage.

I joined the VHEGA group of the IAA as a postdoc researcher after completing my PhD in the IAC (Tenerife) in February 2023, focused on the study and understanding of the variability observed from blazars. This type of Active Galactic Nuclei, with a relativistic jet pointing towards the Earth, is characterized by very unpredictable and still not completely understood patterns of flux variations. They are also one of the few sources able to accelerate particles up to gamma-ray energies.

I have been involved in multiwavelength studies of blazars, mainly in the optical and gamma-ray bands. In this context, I have been an active member of the MAGIC Collaboration the from 2018, where I acted as data analyst, flare advocate and shifter for the collaboration. Among my research activities, I have conducted photo and spectropolarimetric variability studies of blazars on different timescales, including data in all the electromagnetic spectrum from radio to very-high-energy gamma rays, highlighting my experience in the usage of MAGIC and Fermi-LAT data. I have also been part of an optical monitoring program of blazars carried out with telescopes in the Observtorio del Teide in Tenerife, working with members of the Whole Earth Blazars Telescope (WEBT) collaboration.

In March 2023, I received my Ph.D. in astrophysics at the Complutense University of Madrid, where I worked in the High-Energy Physics Group. During this time, I used the CORSIKA air shower simulation tool to investigate the impact of atmospheric fluorescence emission on Cherenkov telescopes. As a member of the LST Collaboration and the CTA Consortium, I contributed to developing the analysis library for the Large-Sized Telescope prototype (LST-1) data. I participated in the task force that studied the telescope's performance. Moreover, I was the lead developer of the telescope's onsite analysis chain and was in charge of low-level data processing. I have also been part of the MAGIC Collaboration, where I worked on characterizing the multiwavelength emission from blazars. Within this collaboration, I was also a member of the Software Board, supervising and maintaining the onsite analysis of the telescope data. My work in the VHEGA group focuses on the development of Gammapy, an open-source analysis library for multi-instrument gamma-ray data, which has been recently chosen as the official science tool of CTAO.

In 2023, I pursued my Ph.D. at the University of Siena in experimental physics after studying young massive star clusters as high-energy astrophysical sources. Afterward, I spent one year as a postdoc at the INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, collaborating with the HEAg group. I joined right after the VHEGA group at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in 2024. I am an active member of several international collaborations, such as the CTA, MAGIC, LST-1, and ASTRI. As a member of CTA, I've contributed to the development of the star-forming-region key science project. My field of expertise deals with star clusters as cosmic-ray accelerators and gamma-ray sources. Part of my research foucses on the Cygnus OB2 star cluster, and the interpretation of its gamma-ray emission. I also investigate the contribution of young star clusters to the diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission. As an additional line of research, I also study how the accelerated particles from star clusters can ionize and affect the interstellar medium in their neighborhood.

With a Bachelor's in Computer Science from the University of Granada in 2004, I embarked on a journey of continuous learning and growth. This academic pursuit led me to pursue Master's degrees in Computer Science and Computer Architectures and Networks, both culminating with distinction from the University of Granada in 2008 and 2010, respectively. My academic journey reached its pinnacle with a PhD in Computer Science from the same institution in 2015, where my thesis focused on "Implementation of Models for Image Processing Applications with Real-Time Constraints," earning me the highest distinction of cum laude. Additionally, I had the opportunity to enrich my academic experience with a seven-month research stint at the University of Linköping, Sweden. Transitioning to my professional journey, I began my career as a Software Developer & Technical Engineer at Doppelmayr Spain(Transportes por Cable S.A.U.), before delving into freelance software development. In 2015, I embraced the realm of computer vision engineering, starting as a Computer Vision Engineer at Adasens Automotive GmbH, where I honed my skills in embedded software development and research in computer vision projects. Subsequently, I held pivotal roles at Oosto, DENSO ADAS Engineering Services GmbH, and Ubyko, where I focused on deep learning optimization, computer vision development, and integrating DL models into embedded systems. My rich academic foundation and extensive professional experience underscore my expertise in computer science and computer vision.

I joined the group in fall 2020 as a PhD student after graduating Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) with a B.Sc. in Physics in 2019 and obtaining a M.Sc in Theoretical and Particle Physics (UAM + IFT-CSIC) in 2020. My current interests are astronomy and astrophysics of AGNs, relativistic jets and other blazar related phenomena, particle and fundamental physics. I also love computing and technology, both of which are very present in my daily work; where coding software and visiting the most-advanced laboratories and observatories is a must.

I obtained my bachelor's degree in Physics at the Complutense University of Madrid where I also completed my master's degree in Astrophysics. My interest in the CTA project led me to start my PhD in the VHEGA group at the end of 2023. My thesis will focus on the study of the acceleration of galactic cosmic rays within star forming regions. Additionally, handling and processing data from the MAGIC and LST-1 telescopes will be a key aspect of my thesis.

Until December 2021 a full member of the VHEGA group, I moved to Brera Astronomical Observatory, in Milan, as a Staff Researcher of Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica (INAF), but keep on collaborating intensively to the activities. I had joined IAA and the group in November 2020, through a post-doc fellowship supported from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” award to the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (SEV-2017-0709). A member since 2006 of the MAGIC Collaboration, and a member of the ASTRI collaboration since the foundation of the project, I have a long expertise in Cherenkov Astronomy, with focus on blazar studies. In particular I am interested in multi-wavelength coordinated studies of blazars, extreme blazars, and the topics of cosmology (Inter-Galactic Magnetic Fields, Extra-galactic Background Light) and fundamental physics (Axion-Like Particles, Lorentz Invariance Violation) that can be tackled studying multi-TeV emitting blazars. So far one of the coordinators of the Extragalactic Physics Working Group within MAGIC (since August 2018) I currently coordinate long-term programs of blazar monitoring and Target of Opportunity observations in optical photometry (with observations at the Sierra Nevada Observatory, and with the robotic telescopes of the world-wide BOOTES Network) and in optical polarimetry (with the “TOP-MAPCAT” long-term program at Calar Alto Observatory, and again at the Sierra Nevada Observatory).

I am graduating in Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Bologna, where I also obtained a BSc in Physics, and I joined the group in 2023 to prepare my Master’s thesis. I started being interested in Very High Energy astrophysics during my studies, mainly because of the engagement of the Astrophysics department in Bologna with the CTAO. Other than the thesis work, I had the chance of gaining experience in the field thanks to an internship at the ASTRI-Horn prototype in Serra la Nave (Catania). My current research topics are gamma-ray pulsars and their emission in the VHEs, in particular I am involved in the analysis of LST-1 data of the radio-quiet Geminga pulsar.

I am an Astrophysics PhD student at University of Bologna. My usual work focuses on developing pipelines for the real-time analysis of gamma ray data within the CTA Consortium dedicated group. I am interested in transient sources and I am a burst advocate for the AGILE mission. I am also a member of LST Collaboration for which I acted as a telescope shifter. I joined the VHEGA group for a 3 months visiting period from April to July 2023 in order to expand and improve my skill set: here I was able to join the galactic science group and learn how to perform LST data analysis.

In May, I finished my bachelor's degree in Physics at the University of Hamburg, Germany. During my final thesis on the spectral analysis of blazars in the HE and VHE gamma-ray regime, I gained my first experience in scientific research and discovered my interest in extragalactic astrophysics. I am now working in the VHEGA group for two and a half months as part of an internship in which I would like to spend my time usefully until my Masters program starts in October. My research topics are the behavior of the VLBI jet components in images of blazars and the multi-wavelength analysis of these sources. The goal is to use these methods to model the emission processes in blazars and thus contribute to a better understanding of these objects.

I am a master student finishing my degree in Theoretical and mathematical Physics at the University of Granada, where I also obtained my bachelor's degree in Physics. I joined VHEGA group thanks to a JAE intro internship, and I am finishing my master's thesis in relation to it. In my thesis, I study the systematic errors introduced during the later stages of the data processing pipeline of the LST-1 telescope.

I am a postdoc researcher in the VHEGA group of IAA. I did my PhD thesis at CIEMAT, in Madrid, focused on propsects for science with the future Cherenkov Telescope Array, an Observatory for gamma rays detection using Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), and after I did a postdoc at the University of Padua in Italy. In my career I have been very active in software development for gamma-ray data analysis, having a great interest in developing new analysis techniques to improve the performance of the telescopes. Since my PhD I have been participating in the commissioning and software development for the first Large-Sized telescope (LST) of CTA. I am currently working in the development of a pipeline for the analysis of polarimetric data of Blazars, also known as Active Galactic Nuclei, one of the most numerous and strong Very High Energy sources. I am part of the MAGIC collaboration, a prolific observatory of two IACTs, where I am dedicated to the study of compact galactic objects such as pulsars, which are rapidly rotating neutron stars, relic from a Supernova explosion. As member of CTA I am currently participating in the analysis of the first data from LST1 which is producing its first science results with observations of sources such as the Crab Nebula or the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi.