Els Peeters

Els Peeters is a Full Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the Faculty of Science, University of Western Ontario. She serves as a Western Space Investigator and leads cutting-edge astrophysics research.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Astronomy, University of Groningen, Netherlands

Dr. Peeters specializes in the interstellar and circumstellar medium, star formation, and the physics of large molecules and dust in space. Her work leverages infrared observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study galactic structures and stellar evolution in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. She co-leads the JWST Early Release Science program "Radiative feedback from massive stars," examining how massive stars shape their environments through radiation-driven processes. Her research integrates big data analytics for processing complex astronomical datasets.

Current Projects:

• Co-leading JWST Early Release Science program on radiative feedback from massive stars
• Actively recruiting graduate students for JWST-based research on interstellar medium dynamics