Testimonials
Curious about what it's like to study the Master's in Particle and Astrophysics? Read about the experiences of students, teachers and alumni below. What's the atmosphere like, what drives teachers and where will you end up?
Testimonials of students
I really enjoyed that you have considerable choice in putting together your Master's programme based on your interests.
- Previous education
- BSc Natuur- en sterrenkunde, BSc Filosofie (Radboud Universiteit)
- Programme
- Particle and Astrophysics
- Study end date
Thomas Vissers was a Master's student in Particle and Astrophysics and Philosophy of Natural and Life Sciences at Radboud University.
Where are you working now and what does your job entail?
I am currently working as a physics teacher at the Lorentz Lyceum in Arnhem. As a teacher, on the one hand you are busy conveying the subject matter you acquired during your studies. On the other hand however you are also concerned with the development of young people in a broader sense.
Why did you choose to work in this field?
During my studies, I noticed that I really enjoyed working with young people and teaching them something, thanks to part-time jobs. As a teacher you can convey the passion for your subject in a creative way, but you also play a role in the social-emotional development, empowerment and citizenship skills of your pupils. That's why I chose teaching!
What did you learn during your studies that you now use in your work?
As a teacher, I use the knowledge I gained during my Physics studies in a fairly direct way. The fact that the Master's programme goes beyond the secondary school curriculum in this respect is not superfluous but rather complementary. That knowledge enables you, for instance, to place subject matter in a broader context, make interesting excursions and respond well to in-depth questions such as in profile papers.
You also bring along skills from your studies. You want to impart an inquisitive attitude to your students and you use it yourself every day, whether it is experimenting with new teaching methods or analysing test results.
How did you experience this programme at Radboud University? What did you think made this programme special?
I really enjoyed my studies at Radboud University! Two things I would like to highlight are the approachable atmosphere with fellow students and staff, and the considerable choice in putting together your Master's programme based on your interests.
What would you recommend to college students when choosing a course of study?
Choose something you feel passion for and keep an open mind. After all, having fun in what you do is not only fun in itself, but contributes to sustainable well-being in the long run. And the knowledge and skills you acquire during your studies can often take you in surprisingly many directions. This is not how I expected myself to end up in front of the class from the start either!
You can choose exactly what you find most interesting.
- Previous education
- BSc Natuur- & Sterrenkunde en Wiskunde (Radboud Universiteit)
- Programme
- Particle and Astrophysics
- Study start date
- Study end date
Master's student Olaf Renes is studying Particle and Astrophysics at Radboud University.
What do you like about the programme/specialisation and why?
You dive deeper into astronomy and have a wide range of electives. This allows you to choose exactly what you find most interesting.
What do you think about the atmosphere in class?
The atmosphere is very good. Most lecturers are very approachable and willing to help you. The other students are very nice and it is fun to work together during the seminars.
What do you find most challenging in your Master’s (specialisation)? Have you encountered any obstacles?
Some subjects are a lot harder than others, which depends on the lecturer. I regret that, because a course that I thought sounded very interesting became very tedious to follow.
Are you currently doing an internship? Or what is your thesis about?
It was easy to find an internship, which was the same for my friends. The subject is interesting and I get a good idea of how science works. The contact with my internship supervisor is sometimes difficult because he is regularly away. That sometimes bothers my friends too. Fortunately, my internship supervisor does his best to help me as much as possible.
Why do you think it is important that there are people with this degree? What are your plans once you have received your Master's degree?
I find astronomy very interesting and would therefore love to do a PhD so that I can start doing research. Still, I'm not sure if that would suit me completely, so I'm also looking at other options. Working at a sustainable company also sounds interesting, but student advisor seems like something that would suit me 100%.
This master's programme provides you with a range of problem-solving, data analysis, and communication skills.
- Previous education
- BSc in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid
- Nationality
- Spanish
- Programme
- Particle and Astrophysics
- Country of previous education
- Spain
- Study start date
- Study end date
Eduardo González Ramos is a Master's Student at Radboud University.
What appeals to you about the master's programme and why?
The flexibility of the curriculum and the freedom to create your own course schedule during the master's degree. Also, how close this master's programme brings you to the world of research.
How do you experience the atmosphere within the programme?
The atmosphere within the programme is very informal and friendly with the professors and researchers. You can have a conversation with them at any time.
What do you find most challenging about the master's programme (specialisation)?
Maybe, for me, the most challenging thing I found about my master's is the jump in knowledge and skills from the subjects to the real research that one has to do during the MSc project. Also, the flexibility in the choice of courses can be a negative point, since some subjects assume the same previous knowledge for all the students, when it is typically not the case.
Can you tell us something about your internship and/or your thesis?
Currently, I am analysing the multiwavelength data from an astronomical transient, studying the different theories that could explain the observed emission, and modelling this emission with various models, obtaining a critical conclusion about the object that emitted the radiation.
Why is it important to have people with this master's degree (specialisation)?
This master's programme provides you with a range of problem-solving, data analysis, and communication skills, which are transferable across different work areas. They are very useful for industry, teaching and research. In my case, I want to pursue research in astrophysics after my master's, and I think that it helped me get started in research through the close contact I had with the university researchers, thanks to this master's programme.
Testimonials of teachers and researchers
The beauty of my research is that we better understand the Sun – our closest star.
- Programme
- Particle and Astrophysics
Katerina Pesini is a PhD student Astrophysics at Radboud University.
The beauty of my research is that we better understand the Sun – our closest star. By studying Type III solar bursts, we learn more about how stars work and can even predict space weather. Space weather has a direct impact on Earth - just one solar flare can disrupt telecommunications, including GPS, radar, and aircraft communication.
I work at the Radboud Radio Lab and LIRA, Paris Observatory. The radio signals I study come from the Solar Orbiter, a spacecraft orbiting the Sun. From these signals, we aim to identify Type III solar radio bursts to create an extensive Type III catalog. Computer algorithms cannot reliably recognize fainter solar bursts, but humans can. That's why I need many volunteers for my citizen science project. Volunteers are provided with all the information needed to identify Type III solar radio bursts, and they can also ask me questions. It’s a highly interactive process.
We will use this catalog to investigate why the Sun’s outer layer is much hotter than its surface and to study the periodicity of the bursts along the solar cycle. We’ll also use it to train an algorithm that will automatically detect Type III solar radio bursts in the future.
What I love about the citizen science project is communicating science: making all the knowledge I've had in my head for years simple enough to explain. I want to show people the beauty of science, just as a physics teacher once did for me. Science isn't distant or inaccessible – everyone can participate!"
Want to help with Katerina's research? Visit the platform Solar Radio Burst Tracker to learn more.
Astronomy is a field where many new discoveries are made.
- Programme
- Particle and Astrophysics
Peter Jonker is a professor at Radboud University.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Peter Jonker. After my PhD, I worked as a post-doc in the UK and USA. The first courses that I taught at Radboud University were in the BA (a course called Space Astronomy), and for a few years, I taught a course on Black Holes for the Honours Academy of Radboud. For the last 5 years I have been teaching a course in the MSc, called Black Holes and Accretion, together with Monika Moscibrodzka.
Why did you choose to study/work in this field? What makes this field so interesting?
Astronomy is a field where many new discoveries are made. The use of the Universe as a large physics laboratory has fascinated me since I was about 12 years old. At that point in time, I was very much interested in how life started on a planet like Earth.
What are you currently doing your own research on?
My research group currently focuses on trying to understand peculiar signals detected in X-ray light. These events are called Fast X-ray Transients. These signals are flashes of X-ray emission lasting minutes to hours sometimes, that come from other galaxies.
What advice do you have for students making their study choice?
Choose a subject that you like.
What is the best part of being a lecturer?
"Teaching teaches the teacher" is a saying I encountered. I like to learn new things, for instance from the interactions with the students who can provide fresh and new looks on the subject matter.
I research the highest energy particles in the universe. I am curious about where they come from and how they acquire such great energy.
- Nationality
- Nederlands
- Programme
- Particle and Astrophysics
Sijbrand de Jong is Dean and Professor of High Energy Physics at Radboud University in Nijmegen.
Could you introduce yourself?
I studied physics at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and then obtained my PhD at the UvA. I have broad interests and, in addition to physics, I have also immersed myself in mathematics, astronomy and computing science by following mixed study programmes. I teach the Special Relativity Theory course in the first year of the Bachelor's programme in Physics and Astronomy. Besides my research and teaching, I am active in management and governance within and outside the university.
Why did you choose to study/work in this field? What makes this field so interesting?
My interest was already formed in primary school, mainly by reading books from the public library with exciting stories about the hunt for the atom. My father worked at an institute for brain research and that shaped my other interest. In my late teens, I decided that the brain is too complex for my simple brain and that elementary particles are more straightforward.
What are you currently researching?
I research the highest energy particles in the universe: ultra-high-energy cosmic radiation. These are elementary particles with gigantic energy, much more than they can get with terrestrial accelerators. We see these particles, but actually know fairly little about them. I am curious about where they come from, how they acquire such great energy, and what happens when they collide with nuclei of gas atoms in the atmosphere.
What tip do you have for students who are making their study choices?
Follow your interest. If you enjoy something, it's easier to become good at it. If you're good at it, it's easier to find enjoyable work with it. Enjoyable work makes you happy.
What do you enjoy most about working with students?
I recognise in many students the hunger for knowledge, the unbiased curiosity. Then it's very rewarding to see when the penny drops.
Testimonials of alumni
“I love a challenge, and in physics you’re always working on solving complicated problems.
- Programme
- Particle and Astrophysics
"I love a challenge, and in physics you’re always working on solving complicated problems. You need to think about every result, and preferably calculate it at least twice.
There aren’t a lot of things in the world with a comparable process, I think, where everything needs to be accounted for. You mostly notice this in conversations with collaboration partners or your supervisor: they can always tell if the outcomes aren’t as robust as you make them out to be. I think that this is part of the life of a scientist: if you cannot prove that your method is solid, you don’t have anything. But it is extremely rewarding when you are indeed able to prove it.
I study black holes and try to understand how the matter surrounding a black hole behaves. The great thing about it is that black holes are deceivingly simple objects. Mathematically speaking, you only need a couple of parameters to describe a black hole. But the effect of a black hole on the matter and light surrounding it is a lot harder to grasp. In order to understand it, we use a very large computer simulations, in which all relevant laws of physics are incorporated. For these computations, I use the Dutch supercomputer Snellius.
Recently, a paper that I worked on together with Maciek Wielgus and my supervisor Monika Mościbrodzka was published. We saw signs in our research of a hot gas bubble that revolves Sagittarius A*, the black hole in the centre of our Galaxy. I studied the observations and gave them a theoretical interpretation. The research teaches us more about the surroundings of this black hole. The publication was a highlight for me. It was one of the first papers that I worked on. It’s great when it’s widely picked up by the media and the academic world.
After this, I would like to do a postdoc. At the moment, I see the fun side and possibilities of academic life. Although it’s not always easy; it remains a struggle to find the right work-life balance. You need to make sure that you’re not working twelve hours a day. My advice to myself and other PhD students: do a work-out, meet some friends. In the end: it’s science, and it’s amazing, but you need to live your life as well."
In the social media series Future of Science, this time Jesse Vos, PhD student at the Astrophysics department.