Here you will find an introduction to myself, written by me. However, if you are interested in something specific, feel free to contact me. If you want to know more from a professional perspective, have a look at my CV.
MY ORIGINS:
My name is Carlos Martínez-Sebastián, and I am an astrophysicist from Madrid. This might seem unusual: in Madrid, it is difficult to see the stars, and I did not have any special fascination with them as a child. My parents did not give me a telescope, and I did not have a rural escape to contemplate the starry sky above me . What I did have was curiosity. As a child, I was always asking questions .my family used to call me “Charlie the Inquisitive”-. As kant himself, I was inspired by two things: the human experience and nature. My interest in humanity first led me to a passion for history, and later, philosophy. My fascination with nature was channeled into a love for science. When it was time to make a decision at the end of high school, I chose to study physics to understand the fundamental building blocks of nature.
ACADEMICAL BACKGROUND:
I studied my B.Sc. in physics (2015-2019) at the Autonomous University of Madrid, one of Spain’s most renowned universities. I did my B.Sc. Thesis in observational astrophysics, where I had the opportunity to maky my first observations with the 2.2m telescope at Calar Atlo (Spain), supervised by dr. Yago Ascasibar. There, I discovered my passion for this field.
A year later (2020), I moved to the Canary Islands to study the M.Sc. in Astrophysics at the University of La Laguna. During this period, most of my professors were active researches from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). In summer 2021, I was awarded one of the IAC Summer Grants and I worked with dr. Sergio Simón-Díaz -currently my Ph.D. supervisor- on an exploratory project to see potential correlations between intrinsic variability and binarity in massive stars. Later (2021-2022), I did my M.Sc. thesis under the supervision of dr. Teo Muñoz-Darias on the infrared study of GRS 1915+105, a famous X-ray binary. This project allowed me to explore another area of my interest: interactive binary systems. This work was later partially used in the first publication in which I participated as co-author.
In 2022, I was awarded one of the five «Astrofísico Residente» grants at the IAC. Since this grant is not associated with a specific project, I had the opportunity to choose among several options from different research fields within the Institute. Finally, I decided to pursue my Ph.D. in the massive stars, under the supervision of dr. Sergio Simón-Díaz and dr. Gonzalo Holgado. In particular, I work in quantitative spectroscopy of O main sequence stars. Although I have learnt diferent tools to do the full study by myself (namely IACOB-BROAD and GBAT), I am specialized in surface abundances determination; in particular, I have studied the nitrogen abundance for O-stars in the IACOB database and have used it to try to unveil past binary interactions.
I think that all my previous experiences, particularly in the field of X-ray binaries, were useful. They helped me to choose my research topic with a better idea of my interests. Additionally, I got some extra knowledge about binary interactions and evolution. This insight has recently shown to be useful, as my thesis delves into the important effect of binarity on the evolution of massive stars.
HOBBIES:
Although I am deeply passionate about astrophysics, I also have other interests. I have various hobbies in which I spend my spare time.
As a child and specially as a teenager, I was quite shy -despite today I am still somewhat reserved, I have significantly improved thanks to personal development-. During high school, I discovered magic, which became my main hobby. The ability to amaze others with just a deck and some few coins, which are easily carried in a pocket, gave me a simple yet effective way to socialize. During years I taught myself through books and videos. Finally, after few years of self-learning, I joined La Gran Escuela de Magia «Ana Tamariz» during three years. This allowed me to learn from professionals and practice in real enviroments and famous places shuch as the Price Circus. When I started University, I joined the AEC La Chistera, the association of university students dedicated to magic in the Autonomous University of Madrid. Two years later, I became its president. Thanks to this long time with magic -more than 10 years in high level performance-, I have had the opportunity of performing in different venues such as schools, theaters, charity events, business dinners or celebrations. I have learned how to amaze others and have met fascinating people who have built their careers in this art. Moreover, I have gained valuable lessons, such as the importance of practice and patience in the pursuit of perfection. I have also learned how to embrace failure and tolerate frustration.
I use another part of my spare time in physical activities that help me stay healthy and clear my mind. I have been juggling for years, although always at an amateur level. I also started climbing in 2019 and, more recently, I discovered a new hobby in Latin dances. Definitely, I embrace the famous phrase Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto («I am man, nothing that is human is indifferent to me»).
However, nowadays, most of my free time is directly or indirectly devoted to my other great passion, besides astronomy: philosophy While my curiosity initially led me to study physics, I fell in love with philosophy when I first encountered it in high school. This pasion was partially set aside during my B.Sc. in Physics and M.Sc. in Astrophysics, but when I began my Ph.D. studies, I decided to pursue simultaneously the B.A. in Philosophy at the UNED. I decided this instead of just reading philosophy on my own to have the opportunity to learn in a structured way, through a program designed for this purpose. In addition, as this is something I am doing to learn, I can prepare a very limited number of subjects each year, diving deeply into them with complementary readings.
SOCIAL AWARENESS:
Since I was a kid, I have had a strong sense of social awareness. For this reason, I have been participating in various volunteer activities since I was 16, when I started going weekly to El Gallinero, where we prepared educational activities for kids and teenagers. where we organized educational activities for children and teenagers. Later, I continued my involvement at my former school and with Fundación Amoverse, where I served as a support teacher for high school students in situations of social risk.
In the summer of 2022, I had the opportunity to spend six weeks in Chad, one of the poorest -in terms of economy- countries in the world.During this time, I was able to share experiences, learn from different cultures—Chad, like most of Africa, is a very multicultural country—and make lasting friendships with people I am still in touch with. More importantly, I had the experience of being a foreigner. As a European, and specially as I went to a long-lasting mission that had helped to develope the village, they welcomed us. However, my experience of vulnerability made me reflect more deeply on the migration issue. When I returned to the Canary Islands, one of the Spanish regions that receives a higher number of immigrants, I decided to join Sansofé, a welcoming project where we offer Spanish classes to immigrants. The goal is not just to teach Spanish, but to create an opportunity to get to know the person beyond the inmigrant and give them an introduction to our culture. This project is based in the convincement of the wealth of multiculturalism.
Perhaps due to my background or my Kantian inclinations, I have a strong sense of duty. In conjuction with my conviction that everything can be improved, I chosed to participate poractively and constructively as a representative. My «duty path» started as the president of the association of university students I was part of. Later, during my master’s, I became representative of master’s students on the Astrophysics Department council at the University -in which I still participate, but now as a representative for Ph.D. students. More recently, I also joined by election the Researchers’ Coincil at the IAC, once again serving as a Ph.D. student representative.