Biography

Francesca Fornasini is an astrophysicist whose research focuses on the evolution of black holes, big and small, and other compact objects. She received her PhD in astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley, where her dissertation research was focused on high-mass X-ray binary systems, which consist of a black hole or neutron star stealing material from a high-mass stellar companion. She is particularly interested in what these binary systems can teach us about how high-mass stars evolve during their lifetimes. 

After graduating from UC Berkeley, Francesca moved to the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian as a postdoctoral fellow, where she began working on the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies over cosmic time and the formation of the first black holes in the early Universe. To study both X-ray binaries and supermassive black holes, she uses observations from X-ray telescopes as well as complementary data from other wavelength bands.

As an undergraduate at the College of William & Mary, Francesca double-majored in Physics and English. She enjoys interweaving her astronomical and literary interests whenever possible, especially in presenting astronomy to the general public.

Education

  • B.S., Physics & English, College of William & Mary
  • M.A., Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley
  • Ph.D., Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley

Courses Taught

  • Physics I
  • Physics II
  • Astrophysics & Cosmology
  • Problem Solving I/II
  • Topics in Astronomy

Areas of Expertise

Titles

Assistant Professor of Physics

Departments

Physics