Akash Vani

Akash Vani is a PhD Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) in Garching, Germany, affiliated with the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich through the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS). His research bridges observational astrophysics and computational modeling.

• Education:
  • MSc in Physics (2022), Heidelberg University
  • BSc in Physics (2019), Savitribai Phule Pune University

Research Interests: Akash investigates galaxy evolution from z=0 to z=10 using semi-analytical models (L-Galaxies) and observational data (Gaia, JWST). He also explores stellar populations, white dwarfs, and quantum computing applications in astronomy.

Key Projects: His work includes Debugging Galaxy Evolution Models, constructing the Fifth Catalogue of Nearby Stars (CNS5), and Deep Learning for Galaxy Morphology Classification. He contributed to photometric calibration of the UVIT telescope and studies on quantum key distribution protocols.

Scientific Awards:

• Summer Fellow, IISER Kolkata (2019)

Publications: He has published in leading journals like Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) and Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A), focusing on galaxy scaling relations, white dwarf identification, and Milky Way modeling. His work highlights discrepancies in quenching processes in simulations and improvements in stellar census completeness.

Labs & Teams: Akash collaborates with the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut (ZAH, Heidelberg), Ludwig Maximilian University, and international teams leveraging Gaia data and quantum computing resources.