Profile
Luca Franci
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About Me:
Hello!
I’m Luca, and I work at Northumbria University.
My favourite bits of science are stars ✨, space 🚀, and the universe 🌌!
Outside of work I am a huge fun of manga and anime 🇯🇵 and I like going to the cinema 📽️ and to the theatre 🎭, playing video games 🎮 and board games 🎲, playing volleyball 🏐 and table tennis🏓, cooking 🍝, and eating 🍕!
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Read more
I was born and grew up in Florence (Italy) and I went to university there. I moved to the UK in 2018 and I spent seven years in London before I moved to Newcastle one year ago.
Nobody in my family is a scientists, but I still made it to become one! When I was a kid, I would spend hours in the evenings lying in a field of grass with my family and friends in the countryside, where the lights of the city are far away, looking at the stars and wondering what’s out there in the universe and how it all works. Some nights I could even spot tens of shootings stars, but I would never get the chance to make a wish before they disappeared, as I would get too caught up yelling “there!” pointing at them.
I now work in a university as a researcher, where I study the Sun and how it interacts with the space around it and with Earth. I also enjoy participating in outreach activities and visiting schools, engaging with kids to let them know how wonderful space is and how fun doing my job is.
Outside of work I like reading manga, watching anime and TV series, going to the cinema and to the theatre, playing video games and board games, playing volleyball and table tennis, cooking both Italian and international food, and love eating.
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My pronouns are:
He/Him
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My Work:
I am a space physicist and I try to understand how the Sun interacts with the space around it and with Earth. To do that, I run simulations that try to mimic the behaviour of a small portion of the real Space, using very big supercomputers made of hundreds of thousand of small computers linked together. I also use measurements done in Space by very technological space missions. I travel a lot for work to meet my collaborators and to present the results of my research at international meetings all around the world.
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Education:
I studied Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Florence (Italy), about 1350 km (840 miles) from Newcastle. I studied many different topics in physics, but those related to space have always been my favourite! I learned about the Sun, far away galaxies, black holes, and the universe.
During my PhD I studied neutron stars, which are giant stars made of super-squeezed matter. They are among the weirdest and coolest things in the universe, and they are so dense that a piece the size of a sugar cube would weigh as much as a mountain on Earth!
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Qualifications:
- Italian Upper Secondary School Diploma (Scientific Track) in Florence, Italy
- Bachelor of Science in Physics at University of Florence, Italy
- Master of Science in Physics and Astrophysics at University of Florence, Italy
- PhD in Physics at University of Parma, Italy
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Work History:
After I completed my PhD in 2024, I worked as a researcher at a few universities, studying the effects of the Sun on space and on Earth.
- 2014 – 2017 – University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- 2018 – 2022 – Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- 2022 – 2023 – Imperial College London, London, UK
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Current Job:
Royal Society University Research Fellow and Assistant Professor
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Employer:
Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
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My Interview
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What did you want to be after you left school?
An astrophysicist
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I would be a schoolteacher
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Lana Del Rey
What's your favourite food?
Pasta, especially the one hand made by me, with any sauce
Tell us a joke.
What did the astronaut say to the nosy reporter? No comet!
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