-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
Expand file tree
/
Copy pathaboutme.html
More file actions
275 lines (256 loc) · 17.9 KB
/
aboutme.html
File metadata and controls
275 lines (256 loc) · 17.9 KB
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<!--
Landed by HTML5 UP
html5up.net | @ajlkn
Free for personal and commercial use under the CCA 3.0 license (html5up.net/license)
-->
<html>
<head>
<title>Sofía RR About</title>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, user-scalable=no" />
<meta name="description" content="Sofia Rojas is from Colombia and studied her undergraduate degree in Astronomy and Physics at the University of Texas at Austin. She received the PhD IMPRS-HD Fellowship to work on the first-born galaxies and quasars in the Universe."/>
<meta name="keywords" content="Sofia, Rojas, PhD, galaxies, quasars, Colombia, America, Germany, scholarships, telescopes, space, awards, IMPRS, Fellow" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/css/main.css" />
<noscript><link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/css/noscript.css" /></noscript>
</head>
<body class="is-preload landing">
<div id="page-wrapper">
<!-- Header -->
<header id="header">
<!-- Conver PNG to ico: https://hnet.com/png-to-ico/-->
<link rel="icon" href="images/sunset.ico">
<h1 id="logo"><a href="s_aboutme.html">Español</a></h1>
<nav id="nav">
<ul>
<li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#">About me</a></li>
<li><a href="index.html#research">Research</a></li>
<li>
<a href="index.html#cv">CV</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="CV_Sofia_RojasR.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CV</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/public-libraries/YiyfyK_gT5OUCsiF5K6fZw"
target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">My ADS</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="index.html#telescopes">Telescopes</a></li>
<li><a href="index.html#outreach">Outreach</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="outreach.html#videos">Videos</a></li>
<li><a href="outreach.html#articles">Articles</a></li>
<li><a href="outreach.html#podcasts">Podcasts</a></li>
<li><a href="outreach.html#resources">Resources</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="contactme.html" class="button primary">Contact Me</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>
</header>
<!-- Main -->
<section id="main" class="wrapper style1" style="background-size: contain">
<div class="container">
<header class="major">
<h2><b>Sofía Rojas Ruiz − Colombian Astronomer</b></h2>
</header>
<div class="row gtr-150">
<div class="col-8 col-12-medium">
<!-- Content -->
<div id="intro">
<p style="font-weight:300; text-align:justify"><span class="image left" style="max-width:30%;filter:none" >
<img src="images/amateur.jpg" alt="Sofía Rojas holding her Tasco Newtonian Telescope, ready to observe at the Tatacoa Desert in Colombia"></span>
I was born in Bogota, Colombia and the first movie my parents bought me on Betamax was actually the series 'Cosmos' by Carl Sagan.
Growing up I saw my mother working as a journalist and professor at a University and my father as an amateur astronomer with a telescope.
My grandfather showed me many books and we both saw my first partial solar eclipse and my grandma taught me math up
to multiplication and division. Seems pretty obvious
now why I chose to do astronomy, but there is more. As many children,
I dreamed of becoming an astronaut and working for NASA making series like 'Cosmos' because that is what I thought astronomers did. It
wasn't until I turned 14 years old that the picture began to become more clear to me. I was studying at the
<b><a href="https://www.corazonistabogota.com/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Corazonista School in Bogota</a></b>
and was just starting to take physics and chemistry classes. Both teachers were very supportive and
showed me a path to study natural sciences.
At the same time, I began to attend public talks on astronomy subjects offered by different
astronomy societies in Bogota.
Many of the speakers were Colombian professionals in chemistry, physics, or engineering who
shared a passion for astronomy, but only one or two had actually studied astronomy abroad.
In my last year of high school, I participated in the National Astronomy Olympiads (IV OCA) and
later moved on to the Latin American Olympiads (V OLAA).
<span class="image right" style="max-width: 30%;filter:none"><img src="images/Grad_Sofi.jpg" alt="Sofía Rojas on her graduation day at the University of Texas at Austin"></span> <!--240 and 320-->
<br><br>
I knew for sure that I wanted to study astronomy, so my mother and I sat down to look for universities and the more I looked the more it became
clear that
I had to leave my home country. At the moment, only one university in Colombia had began to offer an astronomy undergraduate degree and
only one student was part of it and had yet to graduate. Thus, Going to the U.S. became my best option and I set my mind to it.
At the age of 16 and only one month after high school graduation, I left to the U.S. and took part in an English program that guided
me in all university requirements from TOEFL and SAT to essay applications for American universities.
(I have more tips on it <b><a href="index.html#outreach">here.</a></b>)
A year later and back in Colombia on a sunny April day, I got accepted at The University of Texas at Austin and it became the happiest,
most unbelievable day of my life.
Up to this moment, a lot of friends, family and people I knew had told me many times <b>"NO. She cannot possibly get a spot in an American university,
no one else does that, how are you going to afford it, can you even get a job, why don't you just stay in Colombia like everyone else?"</b>
For years, I had been
used to hearing NO
so this <b>YES</b> was in a few words <b>'just it.'</b>
The university tuition was very expensive indeed; my family and I could not afford much more than the first semester of my studies and
living expenses. However, I could apply to a few scholarships available for international students at my university. Summing up the scholarships
I was awarded and my job as an Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA), I was able to pay the full tuition every year and never got in debt.
I worked as an URA with <b><a href="http://www.as.utexas.edu/~stevenf/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">
Dr. Steven Finkelstein</a></b> since my second semester. This is where I developed my passion for studying the early Universe, specifically some of
the <b><a href="research.html#borg">first-born galaxies</a></b> wihtin the first 500 million years of the
Universe (or at redhisft <i style="font-family: Garamond; font-size:25px">z</i> ~ 9).
<p style="font-weight:300; text-align:justify"><span class="image left" style="max-width: 40%;filter:none">
<img src="images/FirstLight_Latinas.jpg" alt="Latinas in Astronomy hanging out at the First Light School in São Paulo, Brazil."></span> <!--340 and 250-->
I grew a lot and many times the hard way being so far away from home in a different culture, but many people at UT supported me the whole way.
I will be <b>forever grateful</b> to my supervisor, professors, friends, colleagues, scholarship donors, admin staff and family for helping and teaching me
to get up and keep moving forward.
At UT I indeed had many opportunities to showcase my research and also took over summer
internships to explore more of the astronomy community both in the U.S. and in Europe. It wasn't until after graduating with a B.S. in astronomy and
a B.S. in physics at the age of 22, that
I began to meet more Colombians studying astronomy and space sciences abroad. I attended
the <b><a href="http://www.firstlight.iag.usp.br/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">First Light School</a></b>
at the University of São Paulo, Brazil where I met for the first time so many more Latin
American astronomers, and I was fascinated! I made new friends and became part of the Colmbian Women Doing Research in Astronomy
<b><a href="https://astrochias.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(CHIA) </a></b>
and the Network of Colombian Astronomy Students <b><a href="https://www.astroreca.org/en" target="_blank"
rel="noreferrer noopener">(RECA)</a></b>, where I am now very active helping to grow astronomy awarenes and the scientific community in Colombia.
You can read more <b><a href="index.html#outreach">here.</a></b>
<p style="font-weight:300; text-align:justify"><span class="image right" style="max-width: 30%;filter:none">
<img src="images/quasar_golf.jpg" alt="Sofía Rojas playing 3D mini golf in Heidelberg and pointing at the background art of a quasar with a jet"></span>
I
have
now
moved
on
to
study
my
Ph.D. at
the
Max
Planck
Institute
for
Astronomy
with
the
Fellowship
from
the <b><a href="https://www.imprs-hd.mpg.de/">
International
Max
Planck
Research
School
-
Heidelberg.</a></b>
I
have been doing research on the first quasars, which are supermassive blach holes living
in the centers of some galaxies. I have focused on the quasars born within the first billion
years of the Universe, (or at redhisft <i style="font-family: Garamond; font-size:25px">z</i> ≳ 6) and some of them are bright in radio wanvelengths,
like <b><a href="research.html#p352FIR">this one.</a></b> I have
been able to work with optical, near-infrared and radio data from ground-based and space <b><a href="telescopes/index.html">telescopes.</a></b>
I enjoy living in Germany and although traveling has been restricted, I have been able to grow my astronomy network and continue to do
what I love. I have learned to PI proposals, be more independent on my research, and take on the every day challenges of Ph.D. live.
Let's hope for more adventures in the future!
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col-4 col-12-medium">
<!-- Sidebar -->
<section id="sidebar">
<section>
<h3><center>My Hobbies</center></h3>
<center><img src="images/tennis1.gif" alt="Sofía Rojas playing tennis in Germany" width="240" height="320"></center>
<!--<center><iframe src="images/tennis.mp4?autoplay=1&loop=1&autopause=0&background=1" width="240" height="320"></iframe></center>-->
<p style="font-weight:300"> I find tennis quite cathartic and is undeniably my favorite sport! I started competing in
high school. However, in the last few years studies have kept me a little busy so I just continue
playing for fun and health. You can find me practicing in Dossenheim or at the courts of Heidelberg
University.</p>
</section>
<hr style="border-bottom: solid 1px #00b3b3">
<section id="dance">
<center><img src="images/dance.jpg" alt="Sofía Rojas enjoying a Latino night in Ziegler Club, Heidelberg" width="200" height='350'></center>
<p style="font-weight:300">I love dancing, like a good Colombian. At school
I was taught all the different traditional dances from Colombia and Latin America, but I enjoy Salsa and Merengue the most!
You can find me dancing every week at <b><a href=https://www.juliosuero.com/ target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julio Suero TanzKurs</a></b>,
or at any Latino party in the nearby region.
</p>
</section>
<hr style="border-bottom: solid 1px #00b3b3">
<section>
<center><img src="images/plants.jpg" alt="Photo of Sofía's plants in her balcony's green house" width="300" height="250"></center>
<p style="font-weight:300">I love taking care of plants and I have a lot, but at the same time not enough.
While living in Germany I have explored more on growing my own food: eggplants, tomatoes,
mint, basil, calendula, chamomille,
strawberries, physiallis and perhaps one day I will finally get passion fruit and granadilla (still trying pollination methods).
</p>
</section>
</section>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<section id="photos" class="wrapper style2 special fade" style="padding: 0 0 1em 0">
<div class="container">
<header>
<h2 style="margin:0 0 1em 0"><b>Colombia, Mi Tierra Querida!</b></h2>
</header>
<div class="box alt">
<div class="row gtr-50 gtr-uniform">
<div class="col-12"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/tatacoa.jpeg" alt="The Tatacoa Desert, Huila" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Tatacoa Desert, Huila.</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/raquira.jpg" alt="Streets of Ráquira, Boyacá" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Ráquira, Boyacá.</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/jaimeduque.jpg" alt="Parque Jaime Duque, Tocancipá, Cundinamarca" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Parque Jaime Duque, Tocancipá, Cundinamarca.</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/campesina.jpg" alt="Clay figure of a Colombian Farmer, Ráquira, Boyacá" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Farmer in Clay, Ráquira, Boyacá.</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/villaleyva2.jpg" alt="Villa de Leyva, Boyacá" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Villa de Leyva, Boyacá.</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/guatavita.jpg" alt="Laguna de Guatavita in Cundinamarca" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Laguna de Guatavita (The Legend of El Dorado)</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/paramo.jpg" alt="Páramo Ecosystem (>3,000 mamsl), Murillo" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Páramo Ecosystem (>3,000 mamsl), Murillo</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/minasal.jpg" alt="Salt Mines, Nemocón, Cundinamarca" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Salt Mines, Nemocón, Cundinamarca.</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/oro.jpg" alt="Indigenous Gold Figurines, Gold Museum, Bogotá" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Indigenous Gold Figurines, Gold Museum, Bogotá</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/cafe.jpg" alt="Colombian Coffee from Cundinamarcan Region" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Colombian Coffee, The Best in the World.</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/fonsi.jpg" alt="Fonce River, San Gil, Santander" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Fonce River, San Gil, Santander.</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/arhuacos.jpg" alt="Arhuacos Indigenous Housing, via the Lost City, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Arhuacos Indigenous Housing, via the Lost City, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena.</b></div></span></div>
<div class="col-4 col-6-xsmall"><span class="image fit"><img src="images/mesitas.jpg" alt="Town of Mesitas de El Colegio, Cundinamarca" />
<div class="bottom-centered"><b>Mesitas de El Colegio, Cundinamarca.</b></div></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<!-- Footer -->
<footer id="footer">
<ul class="icons">
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/sofiastrojas" class="icon brands fa-twitter"><span class="label">Twitter</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sofia.rojas.35977" class="icon brands fa-facebook-f"><span class="label">Facebook</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sof%C3%ADa-rojas-3453bbb3/" class="icon brands fa-linkedin-in"><span class="label">LinkedIn</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sofiaroru/" class="icon brands fa-instagram"><span class="label">Instagram</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/sofirojas" class="icon brands fa-github"><span class="label">GitHub</span></a></li>
<li><a href="mailto: rojas@mpia.de" class="icon solid fa-envelope"><span class="label">Email</span></a></li>
</ul>
<ul class="copyright">
<li>© Sofía Rojas Ruiz.</li>
<li>Design: <a href="http://html5up.net">HTML5 UP</a></li>
</ul>
</footer>
</div>
<!-- Scripts -->
<script src="assets/js/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="assets/js/jquery.scrolly.min.js"></script>
<script src="assets/js/jquery.dropotron.min.js"></script>
<script src="assets/js/jquery.scrollex.min.js"></script>
<script src="assets/js/browser.min.js"></script>
<script src="assets/js/breakpoints.min.js"></script>
<script src="assets/js/util.js"></script>
<script src="assets/js/main.js"></script>
</body>
</html>