Curriculum Vitae

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Contact Information

  • eleonora.alei@nasa.gov; eleonora.alei.phd@gmail.com
  • NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, B34:W231, 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771
  • Italian
  • Italian (Native), English (C1), French (B1), German (B1)

Research Interests

Exoplanets (terrestrial), exoplanet atmospheres, Bayesian retrievals, radiative transfer codes, astrobiology, habitability, next-generation telescopes, emission spectroscopy, exoplanets detection, observation and theory, Virtual Observatory.

Skills

Scientific Expertise

Space Mission Concept Development Spectroscopy & Atmospheric Retrieval Atmospheric Modeling Exoplanet Detection & Characterization Data Reduction & Analysis

Programming Languages

Python (Advanced) FORTRAN (Advanced) HTML/CSS (Advanced) ADQL/SQL (Intermediate) C/C++ (Intermediate) IDL (Basic)

Software & Tools

Git Conda/PyEnv LaTeX Gantt MS Office Suite Adobe Photoshop

Additional Skills

Scientific Writing Project Management Public Outreach Data Visualization High-Performance Computing

Key Roles & Affiliations

Professional Experience

  • 2023-present
    NASA Postdoctoral Fellow
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
    • Lead developer for HWO coronagraph Exposure Time Calculator
    • LIFE Mission Science Team Lead
    • Collaborative research on atmospheric retrievals and radiative transfer
    • Maintenance of exoplanet catalogs for PLATO and LIFE missions
  • 2020-2023
    Postdoctoral Researcher
    ETH Zurich
    • Led LIFE mission atmospheric modeling team (5 high-impact publications)
    • Developed LIFE atmospheric retrieval routine
    • Supervised 8 students and taught 6 semesters
    • Co-led NExSS CUISINES intermodel comparison program
  • 2016-2019
    Doctoral Researcher
    Università degli Studi di Padova - INAF Osservatorio di Padova
    • Developed exoplanet catalog management software (Exo-MerCat)
    • Created models for radiative-convective transfer and ozone photochemistry
    • Collaborated with biologists on photosynthetic bacteria studies

Project Management Experience

Large Interferometer For Exoplanets
Science Team Lead | 2020-present

Coordinating 20+ international scientists. Led atmospheric modeling team, resulting in 5 high-impact publications. Overseeing development of official LIFE atmospheric retrieval routine.

Website
Habitable Worlds Observatory
Coronagraph ETC Developer Lead | 2023-present

Managing timeline and deliverables for core team. Coordinating development of Exposure Time Calculator, with 2 publications in preparation.

Website
NExSS CUISINES
Co-Lead Developer | 2021-present

Managing collaboration of 15+ international scientists on radiative transfer models and retrieval frameworks. Coordinating intermodel comparisons and ensuring timely delivery of results.

Website
Exo-MerCat Project
Lead Developer | 2019-present

Developing and maintaining VO-aware Python code for exoplanet data management. Coordinating with PLATO and LIFE teams to integrate catalog into their workflows.

Website

Developer Experience

HWO Coronagraph ETC
Lead Developer | 2023-present

Developing Exposure Time Calculator for HWO coronagraph. Coordinating existing software and standards into a new user-friendly and flexible code.

LIFE Atmospheric Retrieval Framework
Lead Developer | 2020-present

Coordinated developer team and oversaw development of official LIFE atmospheric retrieval routine, resulting in 5 high-impact publications.

Reference
Exo-MerCat
Lead Developer | 2019-present

Developed and maintained VO-aware Python code for collecting and selecting exoplanet data. Released open-source code and published 2 refereed papers.

GitHub Reference
petitRADTRANS
Contributing Developer | 2020-2023

Implemented surface scattering feature and enhanced Collision-Induced Absorption treatment. Refactored writing of absorption correlated-k calculation from FORTRAN to Python.

GitHub Reference

Education

  • 2016-2019
    Ph.D. in Astronomy

    Thesis: "Habitability Studies of Super Earths Atmospheres". Grade: Ph.D. degree cum laude.

  • 2014-2016
    Master's Degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics
    "La Sapienza" University of Rome

    Thesis: "Stability Studies of Super Earths Atmospheres". Grade: 110/110 cum laude.

Grants

NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellowship
March 2023

USD 256,000 for 2 years

European Space Agency (ESA) Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP)
March 2021

EUR 90,000, Co-PI

Community Service

Conference Organization
Primary Chairperson (2025)

"Habitability" Chianti Topics Focus Workshop, Osservatorio Polifunzionale del Chianti, Italy

SOC Member (2025)

EAS 2025 Annual Meeting, Cork, Ireland

Peer Review Activities
Panel Member (2023 - Present)

NASA Exoplanets Research Program (XRP)

Reviewer (2022 - Present)

Astronomy & Astrophysics, Astronomy & Computing

Editorial Roles
Early Career Research Board of Editors (2022 - Present)

Astronomy & Computing

Exoplanet Newsletter Editor (2022 - 2023)

NCCR PlanetS

Teaching and Mentoring

6 semesters of teaching experience at ETH Zürich, covering physics, astronomy, and specialized exoplanet courses.

Teaching Experience
  • Teaching Assistant Coordinator, Physics I & II, ETH Zürich, 2022-2023
  • Teaching Assistant, Exoplanets Course, ETH Zürich, Spring 2022
  • Teaching Assistant, "Earth - A Unique (?) Habitable Planet", ETH Zürich, Fall 2021
Student Supervision
  • 1 Ph.D. Thesis, ETH Zürich, 2020-2024
  • 4 Master's Theses, ETH Zürich & Università degli Studi Roma Tre, 2020-2023
  • 3 Semester Projects, ETH Zürich, 2020-2023

Selected Talks and Conferences

Delivered 13 invited talks at prestigious conferences and workshops, plus 10+ academic seminars at renowned institutions. Actively participated in 30+ international conferences.

Invited Talks (Selected)
  • Exoplanets in Italy: status and perspectives, Accademia dei Lincei, Rome, Italy, 2025
  • Habitable Worlds Observatory Exoplanet Spectral Retrieval Workshop, STScI, Baltimore, USA, 2024
  • French Society of Astronomy/Astrophysics annual meeting, Strasbourg, France, 2023
  • KISS Workshop: Exploring Exoplanets with Interferometry, Caltech, USA, 2022
  • Europlanet Science Congress, Granada, Spain, 2022
  • ESO Atmo 2021 Workshop, Virtual meeting, 2021
Conference Participation
  • Presented at major events including: BEACON, EPSC, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, Rocky Worlds Conference, AbSciCon, NCCR PlanetS General Assembly, ADASS, IVOA Interoperability Meetings
  • Contributed talks/posters on: Exoplanet atmospheric retrievals, LIFE mission concept, HWO and LIFE synergies, super-Earth habitability, exoplanet data management

Science Communication

Participated in 10+ public engagement events across Switzerland, Italy, and the USA. Delivered 10+ public talks and activities on exoplanets and space science to diverse audiences. Created and managed social media content reaching 130,000+ followers.

Public Events (Selected)
  • Out of this World- Girls In Space, Robinson Nature Center, MD, USA, 2024 & 2025
  • International Day of Women and Girls in Science, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, MD, USA, 2024
  • Astronomy on Tap DC, Washington DC, USA, 2024
  • PlanetS @ Fantasy Basel, Basel, Switzerland, 2021 & 2023
  • Nacht der Physik, ETH Zürich, Switzerland, 2022
Digital Science Communication
  • Content creator and manager for "La Scienza Coatta" (Facebook/Instagram Science Page, ~130,000 followers, 2018-present)

Additional Information

Volunteering

Theatre workshop for people with disabilities.

Interests

Singing, Acting, Tabletop games, Swimming, Playing volleyball.