Alessia Ritacco

I am a researcher working at the frontier between astrophysics and cosmology. I graduated in astrophysics at La Sapienza University in Rome in October 2012 and soon after I started my trip abroad to build up a full international experience. After getting the PhD at the University of Grenoble Alpes (FR) I have worked as on-site astronomer at the IRAM 30m telescope, located in the Sierra Nevada (ES). In fall 2019 I moved to Paris (FR) to work within the cosmology groups of the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS) and the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS). From 2021-2023 I worked at the Osservatorio astronomico di Cagliari (OAC-INAF) in Italy.  In 2024 I have worked as non-tenure assistant professor in the cosmology group of the Tor Vergata University in Rome. Since November 2024 I am entitled a junior professor chair at the LPSC laboratory as part of the CNRS institute in Grenoble (FR). 

My main scientific interest concerns the physics of the early Universe. I work on instrument development and data analysis to achieve the most precise polarization observations from both large aperture telescopes (on Earth) and space satellites. Observing the sky in polarization is the key to probe the origin of our Universe and understand how astrophysical objects such as stars, planets and galaxies formed and evolved with time.