Prof. Dr. ir. Saskia Hekker
Gruppenleiterin Theory and Observations of StarsContact
Phone: +49 (0)6221 – 533 – 320
Fax: +49 (0)6221 – 533 – 298
Saskia Hekker
Group Leader, Theory and Observations of Stars (TOS) at Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS)
Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at Heidelberg University, Center for Astronomy (ZAH)/Landessternwarte Königstuhl (LSW)
Research Interests
Internal structures of stars, stellar evolution, asteroseismology, solar-like oscillators
Curriculum Vitae
| October 2021 – September 2026 | ERC Consolidator Grant “DipolarSound” |
| since September 2020 | Group leader at Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Germany |
| since September 2020 | Professor at Heidelberg University, Germany |
| October 2014 – August 2020 | Independent research group leader, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen, Germany |
| since June 2014 | Head of International node of Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Denmark |
| September 2013 – September 2014 | Lead scientist (ERC starting grant), Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen, Germany |
| January 2011 – August 2013 | Veni fellow, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| April 2009 – December 2010 | Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom |
| November 2007 – March 2009 | Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Royal Observatory of Belgium |
Education
| August 2018 | MESA (Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics) summer school graduate |
| September 2007 | PhD in Physics, Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Netherlands Thesis: ‘Radial velocity variations in Red Giants: pulsations, spots and planets’ |
| April 2003 | MSc in Applied Physics (Cum Laude), Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Thesis: ‘Temperature measurements in Rayleigh-Benard convection using suspended liquid crystals’ |
Prizes/Grants
| 2020 | ERC Consolidator Grant |
| 2016 | Merac grant |
| 2015 | Merac prize for observational astrophysics |
| 2014 – 2019 | Elisabeth-Schiemann-Kolleg fellow |
| 2014 | Max Planck independent Research Group |
| 2013 | ERC starting Grant |
| 2012 | Women in Faculty best publication prize, University of Amsterdam |
| 2011 | Finalist of FYSICA 2011 Young Speakers Contest |
| 2010 | Veni fellowship, Dutch National Funding Agency (NWO) |
| 2006 | Kaiser prize: Prize for my contribution to the popularization of astronomy, Leiden |
| 2006 | Poster prize: Cool stars XIV, Pasadena CA, USA |
| 2005 | Poster prize: Dutch Astronomy meeting, Blankenberghe, Belgium |
| 2003 | Poster prize: Applied Physics meeting TU Delft, The Netherlands |
| 2003 | Master degree cum Laude (< 10% success rate) |
Publications
Please see my publications on ADS.
In the Press
Schwingende Sterne und innere Geheimnisse
Podcast (in German) about asteroseismology and its history, 2023
Article in the research journal of Heidelberg University, 2021
Short interview (German), 2021
Starquake observations near their teenage years
Aps Physics article, 2021
Astronomers Investigate Stellar Interiors
Sky & Telscope article, 2020
Old at Heart: Solution to Red Giants‘ Age Paradox
Press release, 2019
Forscherinnen lösen Rätsel um Rote Riesensterne
German article in the Göttinger Tageblatt, 2019
Stellar Ages and Galactic evolution: what have we learned from Asteroseismology
Talk at the Cambridge Workshop of Cool Stars, Stellar Systems and the Sun (Boston / Cambridge, USA – 2018)
Podcast: Asteroseismologie – Welt der Physik
Podcast (in German) about how to measure oscillations and what they can tell us about stars
Article in Pan European Networks: Science & Technology, June 2017, issue 23, page 75
The power of asteroseismology
Ebook for Open Access Government, July 2017
Asteroseismology: It’s written in the stars
Article in Open Access Government, issue 14 May 2017
Asteroseismology of binaries
Article in Pan European Networks: Science & Technology, December 2016, issue 21
Asteroseismology meets computer science
Article in Pan European Networks: Science & Technology, June 2016, issue 19
German article in the Göttinger Tageblatt
Visions in science – Breaking the enigma
Talk by Saskia Hekker at the Visions 2016 conference at Harnack House, Berlin.
Neue Methode zur Berechnung von Gravitation
German article in the Göttinger Tageblatt about a new method to measure the surface gravity of distant stars, which was published in Science Advances.
German article in the Göttinger Tageblatt about the public lecture „Einblicke in das Innere der Sterne: Die Anatomie roter Riesen“ in the framework of a series of lectures
EWASS 2015 Interview on YouTube
European week of Astronomy and Space Science 2015 Interview with Saskia Hekker who won the MERAC Prize in Observational Astrophysics
Sterne mit beschleunigter chemischer Uhr
Press release, April 2015 (in German)
European Early Career Prize for Saskia Hekker
Press release, March 2015
Kepler-444 has ancient planetary system
Press release: The discovery of five exoplanets orbiting a star in the constellation of Cygnus
Göttinger finden Milliarden Jahre altes Sonnensystem
Article from NDR.de – Interview with Dr. Saskia Hekker (in German)
Article in the Göttinger Tageblatt announcing the project (in German)