Sophie Newman

I am working towards a PhD at the Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation (ICG) at the University of Portsmouth, learning how to generate synthetic observations for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). I also have an interest in using microlensing by compact objects to explore accretion disks.

I grew up in a single-parent family in Grays, Essex, a low-income area where physics education is particuarly poor. I became excited about physics around the age of 15 after watching documentaries on space missions and eventually learned more about astronomy and astrophysics too. In 2019 I started my MPhys degree in Physics at the University of Southampton, graduating with 1st class honours in 2023. I then begun my PhD later that year at the Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth with Claudia Maraston and Christopher Lovell as my supervisors. In September 2025 I begun working at the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) at the Flatiron Institute in New York City through their four-month Pre-Doctoral programme, working with Rachel Somerville and Laura Sommovigo.

When I am not busy coding, you can find me baking various sweet goods (IG: @physicistbakery), crocheting, doing various other crafts, watching F1, enjoying nature, or hanging out with friends from my church family.