Samaya Nissanke is Lead Scientist at DESY in Zeuthen and Professor of Multi-messenger Astrophysics at the University of Potsdam. She is a world-leading expert in gravitational-wave and multi-messenger astrophysics, i.e. the study of the cosmos using various messengers such as electromagnetic radiation, gravitational waves and neutrinos. Her work was crucial to the first observation of a neutron star merger in 2017 – a milestone that heralded a new era in astronomy. Her research aims at understanding strong-field gravity astrophysics with compact objects. In doing so, she addresses the following questions: How do the laws of physics interact in strong gravitational fields? How do binary star systems evolve, and how can electromagnetic and multi-messenger signatures of their merger events be detected? What physical processes drive the most common high-energy events in the universe – jets, accretion discs, mergers and explosions? To this end, she is investigating in particular the merger of compact binary objects such as black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs using electromagnetic and gravitational-wave measurements.

In addition to her research at DESY and the University of Potsdam, Nissanke is also contributing to the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA), where she is helping to build up the astrophysics programme. She heads the center’s multi-messenger efforts, which focus on the follow-up observation of electromagnetic radiation, high-energy particles and gravitational waves, a strategic pillar of the DZA’s scientific mission. Beyond her research work, she is strongly committed to promoting equity and inclusion in science. She has received numerous awards for her achievements, including the New Horizons Prize in Physics, the HEAD Mid-Career Prize of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the International Jacques Solvay Chair in Physics.

Academic career

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