Ben Pennell

PhD Student at the Max Planck Institut Für Astronomie in Heidelberg, Germany.

I work towards modelling and understanding the incidence of compact objects in binaries using data from the Gaia mission to learn more about our Galaxy.

Philosophy of Science

My side passion, more than just a hobby, is philosophy, history of science, and ancient history; specifically Roman History. I have a particular interest in the dissection of ancient sources in Latin and Greek and the ancient authors that wrote them. I am also interested in philosophy of science: what is the optimal way that should be done in? And what has been successful about science’s past that we should emulate? Further, I like to think about how science operates in a sociological context.

I have delivered several seminars to astronomers on cosmology in ancient Greek philosophy, and am always looking for an opportunity to bring this historical discussion to more astronomers.

Theoretical Astrophysics

I have a broad range of scientific interests. My research path started by designing and testing sodium-ion batteries when I was 18, and now I work on populations of binary stars.

My aim is to improve the understanding of physics by probing astrophysical phenomena. To approach a more complete understanding of physics at the most fundamental level, we need to learn more about the most extreme elements of the Universe, some of which are only available through astronomical observation. Modern astronomy, with its large surveys such as the Gaia mission, has a wealth of data available, which, if modelled correctly, can be abused to learn a lot.