Biography

Manuela Zoccali is a Full Professor at the Institute of Astrophysics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where she has been a faculty member since 2004. She currently serves as Deputy Director of the Institute. Her research focuses on stellar populations, with particular emphasis on the formation and evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy and its bulge component.

After completing her PhD at the University of Padova in 2000, she held postdoctoral positions at ESO in Germany and Princeton University in the USA. She has been Director (2016-2019) and Deputy Director (2019-2024) of the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics. Her research contributions include over 215 refereed publications that have received more than 15,000 citations.

Prof. Zoccali has supervised numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, contributing significantly to the development of astronomical research in Chile. She has led multiple FONDECYT research grants and was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011. In 2023, she received the Teaching Excellence Award (PRED) from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She is actively involved in outreach activities and is committed to promoting astronomy education and public engagement with science.