Sera Markoff

Professor of Theoretical High Energy Astrophysics
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy/GRAPPA
University of Amsterdam
Science Park 904, rm. C4.151
1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
T +31 20 525 7478/7491
s.b.markoff@uva.nl

I work at the interface of Astrophysics and Astroparticle Physics, and am interested in a variety of problems relating to the accretion process especially around black holes, both big and small. I am a member of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, serving on its Science Council from 2016-2022 (Vice Chair from 2019), and now sit on its Science Board. I also co-coordinate the Multi-Wavelength Science WG, and am a member of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Project. I am currently co-PI of the ERC Synergy Grant “BlackHolistic” to better understand black holes of all scales, including building a new mm-radio dish in Namibia (the Africa Millimeter Telescope, or AMT) in partnership with the University of Namibia. By augmenting the EHT array with the AMT we will be able to make the first movies of the event horizon region of a supermassive black hole, as well as use the AMT on its own to study transient black hole outbursts.

Group Blog

noun: imposter syndrome Unfortunately, the feeling of being a fraud merely skating by on luck is all too common in STEM fields. Women, under-represented minorities, and those early in their careers are particularly susceptible and therefore make up a disproportionate number of “imposter syndrome” sufferers. As a community, there’s a lot of discourse about imposter syndrome and overcoming it on an individual level. But many of the suggested courses of action to combat these internalized feelings of fraud, such as “celebrate your successes” or “let go of perfectionism”, can read as empty platitudes that are typically much easier said than done. Crucially, these suggestions, although well-intentioned, focus more on what individuals can do personally to change themselves, while failing... Continue reading →

First, the new news

It’s the start of a new year so of course I made a bunch of resolutions that likely won’t stick, but one of them was to start doing more research blogging on our site, and to encourage my group to do better here too, after a longish hiatus. Why the hiatus? At least from my side I guess the fallout from the pandemic has been … Continue reading →

Group Members

Group Blog

Imposter Syndrome: all in your head or all around you?

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Bringing the band back together!

First, the new news

Where I Am / Will Be