Bio

Konstantinos Kritos is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in Physics & Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, working with Prof. Emanuele Berti and Prof. Joseph Silk. He completed his undergraduate studies at the National Technical University of Athens under the supervision of Prof. Alexandros Kehagias, Prof. Ilias Cholis, and Prof. Antonio Riotto.

His research focuses on gravitational-wave astronomy, compact binary coalescences, and the astrophysics of massive black holes and dense stellar environments. He has coauthored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications on topics spanning these areas. Konstantinos has also worked as a visiting scientist at institutions including the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA, Northwestern University), the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), and the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA, Flatiron Institute). His doctoral research is supported by the Onassis Foundation.

Konstantinos is the developer of RAPSTER, a rapid population-synthesis code for binary black hole mergers in dynamical environments, now used by multiple research groups worldwide. Beyond compact binaries, his work includes studies of massive black hole formation, Thorne–Żytkow objects, primordial black holes, gravitational-wave backgrounds in the early Universe, and high-energy phenomena around massive black holes such as tidal disruption events and extreme mass ratio inspirals.

He is an active collaborator with groups across Europe and the United States, having coordinated multi-institutional projects, organized journal clubs, and mentored students. His broader goal is to help connect the gravitational-wave community with the wider astrophysics community through interdisciplinary research and collaboration.