Hector O. Silva

Hector O. Silva is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on relativistic theories of gravity, compact objects (neutron stars and black holes), and gravitational wave observations. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Mississippi (2017) and completed postdoctoral roles at Montana State University (2017–2019), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2019–2020), and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (2020–2024), where he was a Leibniz Fellow.

• Education:
• Ph.D. in Physics, University of Mississippi, 2017
• M.Sc. in Physics, Federal University of Pará, Brazil, 2011
• B.Sc. in Physics, Federal University of Pará, Brazil, 2009
• Research Interests:
• General relativity and its extensions
• Quasinormal modes and black hole perturbations
• Neutron star astrophysics
• Gravitational wave tests of modified gravity theories
• Intersections of gravity with high-energy physics
• Awards:
• Leibniz Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (2020–2024)
• Teaching:
• General Relativity II (PHYS 516), Classical Mechanics I (PHYS 325)
• Lab/Team:
• Leading a research group at UIUC focused on gravitational wave astrophysics and relativistic gravity