Isabelle Baraffe

Professor Isabelle Baraffe is a leading astrophysicist at the University of Exeter, specializing in stellar and planetary physics, with particular focus on low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and exoplanet atmospheres. She has held a Chair in Astrophysics since 2010 and previously served as Professor at CRAL (France) and Associate Professor at École Normale Supérieure de Lyon.

• PhD in Astrophysics (University of Paris VII and Göttingen)
• 2010: Joined Exeter's Astrophysics Group
• 2010-2020: Led the Astrophysics Group

Her research develops self-consistent evolutionary models for substellar objects, integrating atmosphere boundary conditions to study cooling and contraction processes. She pioneered non-equilibrium chemistry in exoplanet atmospheres and accretion-driven stellar evolution models.

Recent publications focus on ATMO 2020 models (Teff=200-3000K, log(g)=2.5-5.5), BHAC15 evolutionary tracks, and GAIA photometric calibrations. Her work addresses cloud formation, magnetic accretion, and disk-star interaction mechanisms.

Scientific Recognition:

• 2024: Fred Hoyle Medal and Prize
• 2023: Lodewijk Woltjer Lecture
• 2020: Viktor Ambartsumian International Science Prize
• 2019: Exeter Research Excellence Award

Grants include ERC Advanced Grants (2012, 2018) and STFC grants (2012, 2018, 2024). She leads the ATMO collaboration, providing open-access evolutionary models.