Dr. Veerle J. Sterken.  Photo copyright Heidi Hofstettler ETHZ

Dr. Veerle J. Sterken

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With a dual background in aerospace engineering and in space sciences, I am currently leading a research group at the ETH Zürich (Switzerland), funded by the ERC Starting Grant Nr. 851544: “The Heliosphere and the Dust: Characterization of the Solar and Interstellar Neighbourhood”. My daily work covers research, teaching, supervision, outreach talks, publishing and community service (organizing meetings, refereeing publications, editing books, mentoring, etc.). I've been a consultant for the European Space Agency in 2024, and regularly engage in interdisciplinary collaborations with colleagues from other fields to allow for synergies that push the field forward. 

My research interests cover:

  • Cosmic dust science (in the solar system)
  • Solar wind and heliospheric science
  • Space (micro)debris and the impact of spaceflight on our atmosphere
  • Space instrumentation and calibration
  • Spacecraft data analysis
  • Dust trajectory simulations in the solar system
  • Space mission concept design
  • History of astronomy
  • Spaceflight and aeronautics

Curiosity drives our research!

Email: info [at] veerlesterken.ch 

Sponsors: European Research Council (2020-2026), ETHZ, NCCR PlanetS, COST Action

Group website: www.astrodust.phys.ethz.ch

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0843-7912   Refereed publications: 55   H-index: 20 (NASA ADSWWW)