Gijs Nelemans

Gijs Nelemans is a Professor of Astrophysics at Radboud University Nijmegen, specializing in the evolution of compact binaries and gravitational wave astrophysics. He chairs the Gravitational Wave Astrophysics research group and is a key contributor to the LISA space mission. His work focuses on binary systems involving white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes, particularly their role as gravitational wave sources. He teaches advanced courses such as Gravity and the Cosmos and The Evolution of Stars.

Research interests include: formation mechanisms of AM CVn stars, common-envelope evolution, and the dynamics of ultra-compact binaries. His studies on gravitational wave sources have contributed to interpreting the first direct detection of gravitational waves by LIGO in 2015.

He leads projects like the LISA gravitational wave detector and has published extensively on binary population models. His work on .Ia supernovae (helium novae in AM CVn systems) proposes new explosion mechanisms distinct from traditional Type Ia supernovae.