Hi everyone! My name is Indira Ocampo Justiniano, I was born in Tarija, Bolivia (although lived all my life in La Paz, the highest "capital" in the world, 3600mts!), and I'm currently based in Spain (where I am doing my PhD and recently got citizenship).
My first time living in a different country was when I decided to do a Master's degree at Moscow State University in Astrophysics, which was held in Russian (yes, now I speak Russian!). Then I was accepted in the ICTP Postgraduate Diploma Programme, in Trieste, Italy, where I did a one-year predoctoral training in High Energy, Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. All this led me to the Instituto de Física Teórica, where I'm currently doing a PhD in Cosmology thanks to the support of the "la Caixa Doctoral Fellowship". During these years of my training, I also took part of the LEAPS program, and the Archival Research Visitor Programme, both research internships at the European Space Agency.
I really love mountains, as I have lived 23 years of my life surrounded by them :) This also led me to enjoy hiking, and fun fact, I reached the Huayna Potosí peak in 2020, which is at 6080 mts over sea level! (but I wouldn't do it again...)
Apart from physics, I also studied Arts at the "Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes" in La Paz, where I fell in love with drawing pastels. Unfortunately, I don't do this so often anymore.
PhD candidate in theoretical physics, Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT), now
Archival Research Visitor Intern in Cosmology, European Space Agency
Postgraduate Diploma programme, International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
LEAPS summer trainee, Leiden University, European Space Agency (ESA)
Master's in Astrophysics, Sternberg Astronomy Institute, Moscow State University
Bachelor's in Fundamental Physics, La Paz State University (UMSA)
I am also part of the Equiality Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the IFT, where I have been organising training activities towards a more inclusive work environment.
La Paz, Bolivia