Profile
Zsolt Keszthelyi
“The reward of the young scientist is the emotional thrill of being the first person in the history of the world to see something or to understand something. Nothing can compare with that experience.” – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
My CV
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Education:
Undergraduate: Eotvos Lorand University – Budapest, Hungary // University of Sheffield – Sheffield, UK // Master’s: University Observatory Munich, LMU – Munich, Germany // PhD: Queen’s University at Kingston – Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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Qualifications:
I obtained my diplomas at the above-mentioned universities.
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Work History:
A number of student jobs between the ages of 16 to 25.
After that, I have worked as a private tutor, a research assistant, a teaching assistant, and as a university course instructor. -
Current Job:
Postdoctoral researcher
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About Me:
I am an expert in stellar astrophysics. I study stars and try to understand how they live their lives in the Universe before exploding in spectacular supernova events.
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Hi, I am Zsolt! I am originally from Budapest, Hungary. I decided to become an astrophysicist when I was about 16 years old. I was always curious about stars – I wanted to know what they were made of, how they lived their lives, and why there are so many of them. In fact, there are more stars in the Universe than the number of people on Earth, so everyone could have at least one star! I truly followed my dreams – without ever stopping – and during my studies, I had the opportunity to live in England, Germany, and Canada. After obtaining my Ph.D. degree, I joined the University of Amsterdam and my research focuses on studying stars.
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Stars are the building blocks of pretty much everything you see around you.
Why? Because all the elements (that are heavier than hydrogen and helium), for example, the oxygen you breathe, the iron in your blood, the silicon in your laptop, were made by stars.
How? Stars fuse elements to be stable and shine. However, after millions (or sometimes billions) of years, these fuels run out and the star faces its final faith. If heavy enough, the star will release most of these elements to its surroundings. Then, new stars and planets will form from this material, enriched in elements that were once inside a star. This fantastic cosmic cycle enables us to exist and ask questions about the Universe.
In my research, I make predictions on how stars evolve by time and what their characteristics are. To do this, I use computer simulations.
Creating computer simulations is much like making a delicious soup. We need some ingredients (here, modelling ingredients such as the rotation of a star), and some instructions (for example, some equations that will tell the star how to work). Then we let the code run but we do not stir it (an important difference). Hopefully, we end up with a result that resembles real stars! The comparison with observations will tell.
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My Typical Day:
The most important meal of the day is breakfast. Therefore, I always take my time to make something tasty and healthy after I get up. I usually drink a nice steamy cup of coffee as well. As the day goes on, I speak with other scientists and run some computer simulations. After work, I go jogging and I often play football as well.
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See above 😉
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would contribute it towards developing and sharing more accessible “virtual reality” tools so that a much broader audience would have a chance to take a closer look at the Universe we live in.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
# :)
What did you want to be after you left school?
I decided to be an astrophysicist when I was 16.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Too many times.
Tell us a joke.
How many astrophysicists does it take to change a light bulb? Two: one holds the bulb, while the other rotates the Universe...
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