Melissa Mendes

Melissa Mendes is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Technical University of Darmstadt's Institute of Nuclear Physics, Theory Center. She holds a PhD in Physics from McGill University (2023) with a thesis focusing on nuclear equations of state and neutron star observations. Her research emphasizes neutron star cooling mechanisms, equation of state dynamics, and signatures of quark-hadron phase transitions.

Her work bridges theoretical nuclear physics with astrophysical phenomena, contributing to understanding dense matter properties via multi-messenger observations. Recent studies include collaborations on NICER mission data analysis and chiral effective field theory applications. She has published in high-impact journals like Astrophysical Journal Letters and Phys. Rev. C.

Current affiliations include the TU Darmstadt Theory Center and the ExtreMe Matter Institute (EMMI). She is actively involved in computational nuclear physics projects analyzing neutron-rich systems and superfluidity models.