#9 Exploring the Cosmos with Bayes and Maggie Lieu

Have you always wondered what dark matter is? Can we even see it — let alone measure it? And what would discover it imply for our understanding of the Universe?

In this episode, we’ll take look at the cosmos with Maggie Lieu. She’ll tell us what research in astrophysics is made of, what model she worked on at the European Space Agency, and how Bayesian the world of space science is.

Maggie Lieu did her PhD in the Astronomy & Space Department of the University of Birmingham. She’s now a Research Fellow of Machine Learning & Cosmology at the University of Nottingham and is working on projects in preparation for Euclid, a space-based telescope whose goal is to map the dark Universe and help us learn about the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

In a nutshell, she tries to help us better understand the entire cosmos. Even more amazing, she uses the Stan library and applies Bayesian statistical methods to decipher her astronomical data! But Maggie is not just a Bayesian astrophysicist: she also loves photography and rock-climbing!

Our theme music is « Good Bayesian », by Baba Brinkman (feat MC Lars and Mega Ran). Check out his awesome work at https://bababrinkman.com/ !

Links from the show:

• Maggie's Website: https://maggielieu.com/
• Maggie's Google Scholar Page: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=ilfwfuUAAAAJ&hl=en
• Maggie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Space_Mog
• Maggie on GitHub: https://github.com/MaggieLieu
• Maggie on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClO6TuRE6XLzbMBmQ_KY38A
• Stan -- Statistical Modeling Platform: https://mc-stan.org/
• Stan's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwgN5srGpBH4M-Zc2cAluOA