DrTimmy Delage

I am a Royal Society Career Development Fellow in the Astrophysics Group. Previously, I held a Chalmers Initiative on Cosmic Origins (CICO) Postdoctoral Fellowship at Chalmers University of Technology. I completed my PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), through the International Max Planck Research School for Astronomy and Cosmic Physics at Heidelberg University (IMPRS-HD). Under the supervision of Prof. Paola Pinilla, I investigated the earliest stages of planet formation. Before my PhD, I completed a two-year MSc in Physics with Extended Research at Imperial College London, studying the atmospheric escape of ultra-short-period extra-solar planets under the supervision of Prof. James E. Owen. This MSc was an equivalent to the final year of my curriculum at the French Grande École Institut d’Optique Graduate School Paris-Saclay, where I completed a Diplôme d'Ingénieur in Physics.

My primary research interests include accretion disk physics, planet formation and extra-solar planets. I combine theoretical modelling and computer simulations to build a coherent picture of how gas and dust evolve and interact in planet-forming environments, ultimately giving rise to planets. By comparing model predictions with observations of planet-forming environments and extra-solar planets, I aim to develop a predictive theory of planet formation and help interpret what we observe with telescopes.

My expertise lies in modelling the complex interplay between dust microphysics, gas ionisation and magnetic processes, and how these processes shape the long-term evolution of planet-forming environments. I have developed a unique numerical framework for these environments that couples the long-term evolution of their gas and dust content, including dust growth and dynamics, with nonideal magnetohydrodynamic calculations. I use this framework to understand how, when and where the building blocks of planets form.