Julien H. Girard
  • About
    • Nature Index (Migrant Astronomer)
    • 2010 Messenger
    • Ella es Astronoma
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  • About
    • Nature Index (Migrant Astronomer)
    • 2010 Messenger
    • Ella es Astronoma
  • CV
  • Publications
  • Contact/Travel
  • Photography
    • oldies
    • black & white
    • astronomers
    • Ella es Astronoma
  • News
European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Alonso de Cordova 3107
Vitacura
Santiago. Chile
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views are my own, not that of AURA/STScI, NASA, ESO, ESA
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Physicist & astronomer, I am an AURA Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.
My main functional roles are: 
  • JWST/NIRCam Instrument Scientist
  • JWST Coronagraphs Working Group Lead
  • Expert & Liaison to the Roman Coronagraph Instrument teams at JPL & IPAC.

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My research focuses on constraining our understanding of the demographics, formation and migration mechanisms of long period giant extra-solar planets and brown dwarfs in young and dusty circumstellar environments (e.g. proto-planetary disks). For that, my colleagues and I use high angular/contrast imaging/spectroscopy/polarimetry techniques to image or detect directly photons from these planets.

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Research interests:
  • Star & Planet Formation (Exoplanets, Brown Dwarfs, Disks)
  • High Contrast Imaging, Adaptive Optics, Coronagraphy
  • Astronomical Instrumentation and Observing Techniques/Strategies

Some projects & collaborations I am currently involved in:
Roman Exoplanet Imaging Data Challenge
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SPHERE GTO
ISPY GTO
LIFE-mission
ExoGRAVITY
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JWST GTO, ERS1386 
ESPF Seminar Series 
EPSIG Group 
CHEXO meetings
PR: ESO, STScI

Short Bio
After completing a Master in Instrumentation Physics from the University of Utah in 2000, I obtained a 2nd Master in Astrophysics at UGA/IPAG (Grenoble) in 2001 and my PhD in 2005 at UCBL/CRAL (Lyon), validating the concept of polychromatic laser guide star, on-sky. I also spent 3 years in Mexico City as a Postdoctoral Fellow at IA-UNAM and as Assistant Professor at IPN-ESFM before joining
ESO in August 2009 . During 8 years I was Operations Staff Astronomer at ESO, spending my time between Santiago and the Paranal Observatory  in the Atacama desert, northern Chile. ​Adaptive Optics specialist, I have been the lead Instrument Scientist of the VLT instruments SPHERE and NACO.  In 2017, I joined STScI to work on the NASA/ESA/CSA missions JWST and ROMAN (formally WFIRST). Enjoying public outreach, I am one of the ESO Photo Ambassadors.

Outside of Work​
​​I am an avid amateur of "world" music, traditional music forms from everywhere. I play (badly) the violin since age 6. I enjoy taking photographs, practicing/playing sports, hiking and cooking (eating!). More than anything, I love to travel and embrace different cultures. Recently (and more so with covid), I took up gardening and urban "mini farming".
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  • About
    • Nature Index (Migrant Astronomer)
    • 2010 Messenger
    • Ella es Astronoma
  • CV
  • Publications
  • Contact/Travel
  • Photography
    • oldies
    • black & white
    • astronomers
    • Ella es Astronoma
  • News