Sophie Edley

I am a PhD student in the Astronomy and Astrophysics group at the University of Warwick where I am a member of the exoplanets research group. My supervisor is David Armstrong. I completed my Master of Physics (MPhys) in Physics and Astrophysics in 2024 at the University of Sheffield and achieved First Class Honours. My 4th year Masters level research project investigated the asymmetric light curves of pre-polar candidates and their ability to test the origin and evolution of magnetic white dwarfs in close binaries under the supervision of Dr Steven Parsons. I previously completed other projects during my undergraduate degree under the supervision of Professor Vik Dhillon and Dr Kristin Lohwasser. My PhD research focuses on exoplanet detection and identifying false positives e.g. from binary systems.

Research

My research currently focuses on creating a training set for PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) which is due to launch in December 2026. PLATO will observe planets orbiting Sun-like stars with orbital periods similar to that of the Earth’s.

Education

• University of Warwick (2025 - 2029) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Physics
• University of Sheffield (2020 - 2024) Master of Physics (MPhys) Physics and Astrophysics
  • First Class Honours
  • Dissertation on asymmetric light curves of pre-polar candidates and their ability to test the origin and evolution of magnetic white dwarfs in close binaries (First Class Grade)