DARK

DARK is an astrophysics research section at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, focusing on the 'dark Universe': what is dark matter and dark energy, how can we measure the Universe and its expansion, when did galaxies and black holes first form, and what do high energy particles and cosmic explosions tell us about the Universe and the objects within it?

 

DARK is an astrophysics research section at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, focusing on the 'dark Universe': what is dark matter and dark energy, how can we measure the Universe and its expansion, when did galaxies and black holes first form, and what do high energy particles and cosmic explosions tell us about the Universe and the objects within it?

 

Senior faculty (permanent)

Marianne Vestergaard Head of Section, Professor
Steen H. Hansen Deputy Head of Institute for Teaching , Professor
Jens Hjorth Professor
Irene Tamborra Professor

Junior faculty (non-permanent)

Christa Gall Associate Professor
Radoslaw (Radek) Wojtak Associate Professor 
Sarah Pearson Assistant Professor

Postdocs

Adriana Dropulic (per Oct. 1, 2025)
Aprajita Hajela
Cecilia Bacchini
Gregory Walsh
Maya Silverman (per Oct. 1, 2025)
Shashank Shalgar
Thomas Berlok (per 1. september 2025)
William Baker

Affiliate Scientists

Anja von der Linden Affiliate Assistant Professor (Stony Brook University)
Claudio Grillo Associate Professor
Tamara Davis Professor (U. Queensland)
Adriano Agnello Assistant Professor
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz Professor
Sandra Raimundo Assistant Professor
Kristian Pedersen Professor
Arka Sarangi Assistant Professor 
Heidi Korhonen  Associate Professor

Postdocs - Associated Scientist

Antonio de Ugarte Postigo Juan de la Cierva Fellow, Astrophysics Insitute, Andalucia
Camilla Juul Hansen Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg
Davide Martizzi Assistant Professor
Hugo Pfister Postdoctoral researcher 
Jesús Zavala Franco Assistant Professor, University of Iceland
Katie Auchettl Assistant Professor
Luca Izzo Postdoctoral researcher

Emeriti

Holger Pedersen Associate Professor Emeritus

Research Facilitation

Aleksandra Lesniewska Research Assistant
Arthur Matthew Kadela Research Assistant
Aidan Sedgewick Postdoc 

PhD Students

Aman Nadimpalli Raju, Email: aman.raju@nbi.ku.dk 
Clara Ferreira Cores, Email: clara.cores@nbi.ku.dk 
Danial Rangavar Langeroodi
Diego Farias
Jo Verwohlt
Julie Kiel Holm, Email: julie.holm@nbi.ku.dk 
Sirui Wu
Vito Tuhtan

MSc Students

Freja Amalie Nørby
Fiona Hjorth Gammelgaard, Email: kjp806@alumni.ku.dk 
Ivan Stoyanov Kanev
Liam Mads Eichstedlund de Búrca
Joseph Romano Adorisio, Email: gfb604@alumni.ku.dk 
Marcus Albert Mynatt, Email: bqf286@alumni.ku.dk 

 

 

Here you find Scientific publications by DARK researchers and Master's theses and Ph.D. theses by DARK students.

 

 

Large collaborations

Computing

  • Local DARK cluster: ~2000 cores, 1 Pb storage
  • Access to national and international computing resources and storage
  • Apple laptops

Large collaborations

 

DARK offers Astronomy and Physics teaching and research training on Bachelor, Masters and Ph.D. level.

BSc and MSc students

The faculty at DARK teaches courses and supervises students in Astrophysics at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen. For the Astronomy and Physics programs and general rules of study, please refer to the University of Copenhagen sites:

PhD students

PhD projects are carried out in a dynamic international environment of daily interaction with the supervisors as well as other students, postdocs and staff at DARK. Typically projects involve state-of-the-art observations obtained at international observatories and/or new theoretical developments. Students typically complete one main project and 2 more 3 smaller projects.

In addition to research, PhD students have some teaching or other communications duties at the Niels Bohr Institute and they are required to take courses, which can be done at DARK or the NBI, through research-based independent projects, and by attending summer/winter schools or courses abroad.

  • DARK expects students to develop a significant international network of collaborators.
  • All of DARK's PhD students work on projects with researchers internationally, and they spend a significant amount of time abroad attending conferences and international schools, as well as for research stays at institutions abroad.
  • DARK's research staff are very international, and they bring the benefits of their wide scientific networks to the Centre.

In addition, DARK hosts up to 100 visitors each year who contribute to DARK science in a number of ways; they infuse ideas and stimulate activity, add their expertise to on-going projects, get inspired and develop projects.

Visit the PhD School of Science

DARK also hosts Danish and international students for long- or short term studies and short-period visits.

 

 

Visitors within science and art are an integral part of DARK. Visitors contribute to DARK science and art in a number of ways; they infuse ideas and stimulate activity, add their expertise to on-going projects, get inspired and develop projects.

In the past 10 years, DARK has hosted more than than 1000 visits from scientists all over the world, for short or long stays.

Prospective visitors should contact their scientific collaborator at DARK to arrange for the visit.

The prospective visitor's host (a scientific collaborator at DARK) will introduce the visitor to the scientific and non-scientific life at DARK.

 

 

Niels Bohr Building, Jagtvej 155B, 2. floor, 2200 København N.

Head: 

Marianne Vestergaard, Professor
Phone: +45 35 32 59 09
Email: mvester@nbi.ku.dk 

Secretary:

Helena Baungaard-Sørensen
Email: helena.baungaard@nbi.ku.dk
Phone: +45 35 32 70 14 

Katrin Hjorth
Email: khjorth@nbi.ku.dk
Phone: +45 35 33 32 49

 

 

 

Secretary:
Helena Baungaard-Sørensen
Email: Helena.baungaard@nbi.ku.dk 
Phone: +45 35 32 70 14 

Head: 
Marianne Vestergaard, Professor
Phone: +45 35 32 59 09
Email: mvester@nbi.ku.dk