We would like to officially welcome our four new team members to Astrocent! Well, three are brand new, and one is making a much-anticipated return!
Dr. Rita Antonietti, Dr. Miroslav Macko, and Dr. Pedro Silva have joined our team as Researchers in Medical Physics and Radiation Detectors group.
Dr. Rita Antonietti obtained her Ph.D. in Physics from Roma Tre University, Italy, in March 2025, with a thesis on the response of a large-volume TPC prototype for the CYGNO experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS). Her research focuses on experimental particle physics and dark matter searches. Since July 2025, she has been a postdoctoral researcher (adiunkt) at Astrocent of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw.
Dr. Miroslav Macko is an expert in simulations and data analysis for ultra-rare event searches. He received his master degree in 2015 under the supervision of Prof. Fedor Šimkovic, focusing on nuclear theory and QRPA model calculations — a key tool for evaluating nuclear matrix elements in neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ). Currently, he collaborates with Prof. Masayuki Wada on DarkSide, a project dedicated to dark matter searches.
Dr. Pedro Silva earned his PhD in Physics from the University of Coimbra in September 2025. His research is centered on the development of advanced instrumentation for gas detectors, with a strong foundation in detector physics and related technologies. His upcoming research will focus on the design, construction, and assembly of novel optical amplification structures for future dark matter detectors. Additionally, he will be involved in the development of a new dual-phase Time Projection Chamber (TPC) at Astrocent, aimed at evaluating the impact of the gas-liquid interface on detector performance and minimizing delayed (spurious) events.
And returning to Astrocent – Dr. Sebastian Trojanowski, a Researcher in the Particle Astrophysics Theory group!
Dr. Sebastian Trojanowski is a theoretical physicist specializing in (astro)particle physics and particle cosmology. He received his Ph.D. degree in physics from the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) in Poland in 2015. He then continued his career with three long-term postdoctoral positions: at the University of California, Irvine (2016–2018), the University of Sheffield in the UK (2018–2020), and at AstroCeNT, NCAC PAS (2020–2023). He subsequently worked as an Assistant Professor at NCBJ until he rejoined Astrocent in 2025 to become a member of the Particle Astrophysics Theory team.
Welcome Rita, Miroslav, Pedro, and Sebastian!
Check out full bios of our new team members at: Staff page
