• Could you tell us a few words about your background? My curiosity for astrophysics started towards the end of high school, leading me to attend a bachelor’s in physics at Sapienza University in my hometown of Rome. Writing my bachelor’s thesis on cosmology confirmed what my high school self already knew, convincing me to stay at Sapienza for a master’s in astrophysics. During my master’s, the high energy astrophysics course in Rome and my exchange at the University of Tübingen fueled my interest in black holes and X-ray astronomy, and ultimately led me to SRON for my current PhD project.

• What is the most exciting thing about your job ? It is without a doubt the moments in which I remember to look beyond the code and the numbers on my screen and start reflecting on what they actually represent. I find fascinating having the possibility to look at things so far away that we are seeing them how they were more than one billion years ago, a time when life on Earth did not even exist on land just yet!

• Why did you choose to become a scientist ? As a kid I remember reading several books on astrophysics and physics, especially those by Hawking and by Rovelli. During my university studies, as I got a deeper and more realistic understanding of its complexities, the curiousity and awe that I felt towards astrophysics not only did not fade, it grew stronger. It is this sense of wonder that I feel during my research that lets me be sure becoming a scientist was the right choice.

Figure Caption: (Left) Valerio in the Roman Forum with a view of the Colosseum and (Right) at the Savica waterfall in Slovenia.

• What is the main focus of your PhD project ? My project aims at improving our understanding of winds in active galactic nuclei (AGN): by employing spectral-timing techniques we can estimate the density of outflows, and in turn how they regulate the interaction between the supermassive black hole and its host galaxy. To this end, I am developing machine learning algorithms to both optimize and broaden the applicability of simulations of AGN outflows, together with their analysis with current and future X-ray missions.

• What do you do for fun? I love spending time outdoors, be that to play some sports, to go for a run or a hike, or just to relax and read in a park. I also enjoy cooking very much, especially to unplug my mind and get a well deserved prize (a nice dinner) after a long day!