Athira Menon

Bio:
Dr. Athira Menon is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Amsterdam (Anton Pannekoek Institute of Astronomy). She is a theoretical astrophysicist and studies the evolution of stars especially those of binary stars, with the help of mathematical models and computer simulations.
She is this year’s winner of Fame Lab, Netherlands and runner-up of Fame Lab International- the world’s largest science communication contest. She is also a proficient dancer in the style of Bharatanatyam, India’s ancient classical dance.
Talk description:
We know we are all made of star stuff- ashes left behind by the explosions of massive stars. But did you also know that the majority of these massive stars live with companions? This simple fact fundamentally alters our understanding about the lives of stars and their dramatic deaths as supernovae and black holes.
Find out how binary stars are preparing us for a new era of astronomy- from the discovery of gravitational waves to the colossal flood of data to come from the largest sky surveys yet.