Hello. My name is Ruud Visser and I am a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Ted Bergin at the Department of Astronomy at the University of Michigan. My research focuses on the chemical aspects of low-mass star formation. Combining theory, computer models and astronomical observations, I’d ultimately like to understand how the Sun and the Earth were formed and how life here emerged.
Why chemistry? For one thing, because chemistry in space is so different from chemistry on Earth, so much more exotic than what we can do in a laboratory, and that’s cool. For another, because chemistry is an excellent tool to help unravel the mysteries of star and planet formation. In the earliest phases of star formation, when the young star is still deeply embedded in its natal envelope, molecular lines allow us to determine temperatures, densities, and kinematics. For example, emission from highly rotationally excited CO – observed with the Herschel Space Observatory – reveals the presence of hot gas excited by shocks and UV radiation. Chemical models are a key component to interpreting the observed spectra of CO and other species, so I also spend a lot of time on developing such models in the framework of ever more complex 3D physical structures.
Scientific interests
- energetics and dynamics of embedded low-mass protostars
- chemical evolution from pre-stellar cores to circumstellar disks
- photoprocesses (e.g. photoevaporation, photodissociation)
- application of laboratory results to astrochemical models
Further reading
Use the menu bar at the top of the page to navigate your way around my website. Among my work-related pages are listings of refereed papers and other publications, and my curriculum vitae. At some point I’d also like to add descriptions of past and current research projects, but that will take a while.
The two main non-work parts of my website are my photography showcase and my infrequently maintained weblog. The Twitter feed in the right sidebar contains some recent news items.