Discs research group

We study discs that orbit a variety of other stars, from the youngest planet-forming discs to those that orbit the end-products of stellar evolution, white dwarfs. Our research aims to understand how these discs form and evolve, what goes on within them, and their ultimate fate. This work is done with a combination of theory, observation, and modelling. We use supercomputers, state-of-the-art observatories, and occasionally a pen and paper.

Academic Staff

Name	Email & Links	Research Interests
Farzana MeruLink opens in a new window (associate professor - Reader, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow)	f.meru [at] warwick.ac.uk	Protoplanetary Discs Planet Migration Dust Coagulation & Fragmentation Planet Formation (Core Accretion & Gravitational Instability) Self-gravitating discs
Dimitri VerasLink opens in a new window (associate professor, STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow)	d.veras [at] warwick.ac.uk	White dwarf debris discs and rings Planet-disc interactions

Research Staff

Name	Email & Links	Research Interests
Maria de Juan OvelarLink opens in a new window (Research Fellow)	maria.dejuanovelar [at] warwick.ac.uk	Protoplanetary Discs Planet formation and dust evolution in PPDs Observational diagnostics for PPDs Radiative transfer Imaging polarimetry
Tim PearceLink opens in a new window (Stephen Hawking Fellow)	tim.pearce [at] warwick.ac.uk tdpearce.ukLink opens in a new window	Debris Discs Planet-debris Interactions Hot dust near main-sequence stars Planetary dynamics
Andrew Swan (Research Fellow)	Andrew.Swan [at] warwick.ac.uk	White dwarf planetary systems Composition and evolution of white dwarf disks JWST spectroscopy
Ayaka Okuya (JSPS Research Fellow)	ayaka.okuya.astro [at] gmail.com	White dwarf debris discs Modelling of disc evolution and emission Dust mineralogy

Postgraduate Research Students

Name	Email & Links	Research Interests
Amena FaruqiLink opens in a new window (PhD student)	amena.faruqi [at] warwick.ac.uk	Protoplanetary Discs Planet-Disc Interactions Planet Formation Planetary System Dynamics
Rafael Martinez-BrunnerLink opens in a new window (PhD Student)	rafael.martinez [at] warwick.ac.uk	White Dwarf Debris Discs Planet-disc Interactions
Pratishtha RawatLink opens in a new window (PhD Student)	pratishtha.rawat [at] warwick.ac.uk pratishtha-rawat.github.ioLink opens in a new window	Protoplanetary discs Planet Formation and Evolution Planetary System Architectures Planet-disc Interactions Exoplanets, exomoons Stellar evolution

Previous Group Members

Name	Email & Links	Research Interests
Raphael Bendahan-WestLink opens in a new window (MSc by Research, 2021-2022)		Debris Discs Exocomets
Patrick Cronin-ColtsmannLink opens in a new window (PhD, 2018-2022)		Debris Discs Protoplanetary Discs Planet Formation Low Mass Stars
Grant KennedyLink opens in a new window (Associate professor, 2018-2025)	drgmk.comLink opens in a new window	Debris Discs Exocomets Protoplanetary Discs Planet-disc interactions
Minjae KimLink opens in a new window (Research Fellow, 2022-2024)		Debris Discs Cometary Dust (67P) Small Bodies of the Solar System
Chris ManserLink opens in a new window (PhD, 2014-2018; Research Fellow 2018-2020)		White dwarf debris discs Remnant planetary systems around white dwarfs
Catriona McDonaldLink opens in a new window (PhD, 2019-2023)	catrionamcdonald.github.ioLink opens in a new window	White Dwarf Pollution White Dwarf Debris Discs Planetary System Dynamics
Rebecca NealonLink opens in a new window (assistant professor, Stephen Hawking fellow)	Rebecca.Nealon [at] warwick.ac.uk rebeccanealon.comLink opens in a new window	Protoplanetary discs Planet disc interactions Warped and misaligned discs Black hole discs
Azib NorazmanLink opens in a new window (PhD, 2021-2025)	azib.norazman [at] warwick.ac.uk azibn.github.ioLink opens in a new window	Exocomets Transit Photometry Machine Learning Debris Discs
Sahl RowtherLink opens in a new window (PhD, 2018-2022)	sahl95.github.ioLink opens in a new window	Gravitationally Unstable Protoplanetary Discs Warped Discs Planet-Disc Interactions
Alison Young (Research Fellow, 2024-2025)	Alison.Young [at] warwick.ac.uk akyoung.bitbucket.io	Star and planet formation Hydrodynamic simulations Radiative transfer Disc chemistry