MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A local woman has taken the age-old phrase, "reaching for the stars" quite literally, and will be setting off for Germany to start her PhD in Astrophysics in November or December.
Sumari Barocci-Faul, a 2017 matriculant of Point High School, is finishing her Science Masters degree at the University of Cape Town (UCT) under the supervision of Professor Paul Groot, who is also a professor of astronomy at, and co-founder of, the Department of Astrophysics of Radboud University in Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
Barocci-Faul spoke to Mossel Bay Advertiser about her MSc, the work she will do for her PhD, what she has accomplished so far and how she came to study the stars.
Her MSc thesis focuses on the multi-wavelength study of the star, CRTS J033349.8-282244, with the MeerLICHT and MeerKAT telescopes.
The MeerLICHT Telescope is at the Sutherland station of the South African Astronomical Observatory and the MeerKAT Telescope at the Meerkat National Park in the Northern Cape.
Sumari Barocci-Faul presenting her work at the IAU General Assembly that took place in Cape Town between 6-15 August this year. Photo: Supplied
"All the numbers are the coordinates for the star. It is classified as an outbursting cataclysmic variable star. It appears explosive - there are periods when it shines brighter and bigger than others, so my thesis looks at why this happens, when this happens and asks, can we predict when it will appear brighter and for how long," said Barocci-Faul.
"The star is in a two-star system (when two stars orbit each other with a mutual centre of gravity) and because of the gravity of my star, it “eats” or collects the matter of the other star in the system," she said.
"My star has a disk around it and as soon as the matter of the other star enters that disk, the disk heats up and glows more brightly.
"The star is very far away so we don't see this happening but we see the data and the brightness increasing when the matter from the other star is collected and enters the disk and this is very exciting to see," she said.
She added that studies like this help to understand interactions between two astronomical bodies in space, how they change, how quickly they change, and how massive or cataclysmic these interactions can be.
Barocci-Faul said the physics of black holes is similar.
She said although she would have been able to complete her PhD at UCT, she had always wanted to study abroad. She applied to universities in Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. She said she heard back from two universities in Germany and decided that the University of Hamburg would be the best fit for her.
"I am so excited, but also a little nervous. I don't speak German and it will be difficult to leave my entire support system behind but I was made for more and I am ready for this new challenge," she said.
Sumari Barocci-Faul at the Vasto Accretion Meeting conference in Vasto, Italy in June last year. Photo: Supplied
Talking about how she found out about astronomy and came to study it, she said that growing up, she had thought she might be a lawyer or an engineer.
"I was in Grade 10 when one of my teachers, Ferdi Pieterse spoke to us about Astrophysics. He told us to Google it and when I got home that day, I did. I was sucked in by it, I thought it was so cool.
"In Grade 11, I did an aptitude test, and it found that I would need to do something that constantly challenges me. I feel like I made the right choice. This field has completely changed me. There is always a challenge, always something new, and I am always learning and adapting.
"I am proud of what I have achieved, especially growing up as a girl in a small town. Some of my family were a little hesitant in the beginning when they found out what I would be studying but I think sometimes people are hesitant or scared of the unknown.
"My friends were all amazed, they were saying, 'oh my gosh, you're going to work at NASA,' which I would love," she said with a laugh.
So far, Barocci-Faul has presented speeches and attended meetings across the globe, including the Netherlands, Italy and the UK.
"I have had a lot of pinch-me moments," she said.
She said that she is expected to leave for Germany in either November or December, depending on when she receives feedback on her MSc and visa applications.
"If I can inspire just one girl to go into the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field, then I think I will have done more than I ever could have dreamed of achieving," she said.
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