Els Peeters

My research

I study the inter -and circumstellar medium and star formation in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. My primary focus is on large carbonaceous molecules (such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, PAHs, and fullerenes), carbon nano-particles, and dust. Most of my research involves infrared spectroscopy and imaging.

Together with Emilie Habart and Olivier Berné, I am leading the JWST Early Release Science Program "PDRs4All: Radiative feedback from massive stars". For more information on this program, see the program's website and the STScI website on this program.

Current group members:

• Alexander Ebenbichler: postdoc (2025 - ...)
• Paula Moraga Baez: postdoc (2025 - ...)
• Dries Van De Putte: postdoc (2024 - ...)
• Nicholas Clark: Ph.D. student (2024 - ...)
• Alice Guerras: Ph.D. student (2025 - ...)
• Bethany Schefter: Ph.D. student (2022 - ...)
• Simon Van Schuylenbergh: Ph.D. student (2024 - ...)
• Samuel Alejandro Daza Rodriguez: M.Sc. student (2025 - ...)
• Erica Roscue: M.Sc. student (2024 - ...)
• Charlotte Smith-Perez: M.Sc. student (2023 - ...)
• Aidan Hembruff: undergraduate student (2025 - ...)
• Dax West: undergraduate student (2025 - ...)
• Baria Khan: Research Assistant (2024 - ...)

Former group members:

• Postdocs:
• Ryan Chown
• Collin Knight
• Alexandros Maragkoudakis
• Elisabetta Micelotta
• Matt Shannon
• Ameek Kaur Sidhu
• Dave Stock
• Graduate students:
• Arnab Chowhan (remote)
• Amy Fare
• Dimuthu Hemachandra
• Nina Ivkovich
• Baria Khan
• Collin Knight
• Jacqueline Otaguro
• Sofia Pasquini
• Rajib Saha
• Ruma Samadder
• Matt Shannon
• Ameek Kaur Sidhu
• Luis Giuliano Victorero Moya
• Undergraduate students:
• Ben Abbott (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Cedric Baets (4th year Hon. Thesis project)
• Vipul Baghel (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Amolika Bansal (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Sam Barber (USRI fellowship)
• Josh Bazeley (4th year Hon. Thesis project)
• Dong Yup Choi (NSERC USRA fellowhip)
• Arnab Chowhan (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Rajarshi Choudhury (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Patrick Cookson (4th year Hon. Thesis project)
• Samuel Alejandro Daza Rodriguez (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Dhruvil Doshi (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Ian Fare (Faculty Pre-Thesis award; NSERC USRA fellowship)
• Zainab Fayyaz (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Joelene Hales (NSERC USRA fellowship; 4th year Hon. Thesis project)
• Aidan Hembruff
• Raphaela Kestler (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Enya Mendoza Alejo (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Asad Khan
• Danial Khan
• Heather McIsaac (CPSX award)
• Colin Metrow (CPSX award)
• Khaledi Ramzi
• Holly Raynor (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Charlotte Smith-Perez
• Saied Sorkhou (NSERC USRA fellowship)
• Jason Sung (4th year Hon. Thesis project)
• Ronak Toprani (Western Space internship)
• Diego Vargas Muro (MITACS Globalink Researh Internship)
• Dax West
• Roy Zang
• Research Assistants:
• Laila Ladhani
• Dimuthu Hemachandra
• Roy Zang
• Visiting students:
• Laura Finazzi (PhD student, Radboud University, the Netherlands)
• Alice Guerras (MSc student, University of Paris-Saclay, France)
• Pernille Jensen (PhD student, Aarhus University, Denmark)
• Haruka Suzuki (BSc student, University of Tokyo, Japan)
• Congcong Zhang (PhD student, University of Science and Technology of China, China)