Sophie Newman

I am working towards a PhD at the Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation (ICG) at the University of Portsmouth, generating synthetic observations of galaxies and AGN from major hydrodynamical simulations and semi-analytic models in order to better interpret observations from telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

I grew up in a single-parent family in Grays, Essex, a low-income area with limited access to quality education. My interest in physics began around the age of 15, when I became fascinated by documentaries about space missions. This sparked a lasting interest in astronomy and astrophysics and ultimately motivated me to pursue physics at university. In 2019, I began my MPhys degree in Physics at the University of Southampton, graduating with First-Class honours in 2023. Later that year,I began my PhD at the Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, under the supervision of Christopher Lovell, Thomas Collett and Laura Nuttall. In September 2025, I joined the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) at the Flatiron Institute in New York City through its Pre-Doctoral programme, working with Rachel Somerville and Laura Sommovigo.

When I am not busy coding, you can find me making wedding cakes (IG: @physicistbakery), learning too many kinds of crafts, reading fantasy books, enjoying nature, or hanging out with friends from my church family.