Laura Kreidberg

Laura Kreidberg is Director of the APEx Department at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg and holds professorships at Heidelberg University (since 2023) and Leiden University (since 2022). She leads observational research on exoplanet atmospheres using space-based telescopes like JWST and Hubble. Her work focuses on revealing planetary compositions, dynamics, and habitability through advanced spectroscopic techniques.

Education: PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics from University of Chicago (2016), BS in Physics & Astronomy from Yale University (2011). Former appointments include Clay Fellow (2019-2020) and Harvard Society of Fellows Junior Fellow (2016-2019).

Research interests emphasize atmospheric characterization of transiting exoplanets, combining observational data with 3D modeling to study planetary evolution and diversity. Instrumentation work includes ELT/METIS and GRAVITY+ projects for ground-based exoplanet observation.

Active in open-source astronomy software development, maintaining packages like BATMAN and SPIDERMAN for transit modeling and phase curve simulations. GitHub profile shows contributions to exoplanet data analysis tools.