Béibhinn Whelan

"I feel honoured to have been able to work with the eROSITA data"

Life
My name is Béibhinn Whelan and I am a masters student from Ireland. I completed my Bachelor of Science in Physics with Astrophysics at Maynooth University writing a thesis on the transit method of detecting exoplanets with data I took at Observatoire Haute de Provence in France. After finishing my Bachelor studies I moved to Bonn to study my Master of Science in Astrophysics at the University of Bonn.

My interest in astronomy and hence astrophysics was sparked from looking up at clear skies free from light pollution in the country side of Ireland where I live. From very young I wanted to know as much as I could about space and what we could see. When I left school there was no doubt that Astrophysics was the field in which I wanted to study. During my final year in my Bachelor degree there was a series of lecture pertaining to High Energy Astrophysics given by Dr. Patrick Kavanagh that piqued my attention and motivated me to study this further.

Science
While studying in Bonn, I joined Prof. Thomas Reiprich's working group and started working with eROSITA data. I worked on the Abell 3158 galaxy cluster for my Master Thesis for calibration and scientific purposes. Following on from this, given the extensive work I had carried out I lead a paper with the data. I feel honoured to have been able to work with the eROSITA data and the wonderful team of scientists so early in my career.

My scientific interests with regard to eROSITA are Galaxy Clusters and Groups. In general my scientific interests also include exoplanet detection and other high energy astrophysics.

Interests
My hobbies are extensive and I typically don't have time to participate in them all. I enjoy playing a number of sports, hiking, reading (science fiction is my favourite genre), cooking and baking (I have made many of my family's birthday cakes during the COVID-19 pandemic). My passion however is being involved in theatre productions. In my bachelor studies I preformed in a number of plays and even brought home the society's first award in a number of years.

Conclusion
Restarting my academic career would probably bring me in a very different direction but I wouldn't give up any of the experiences I've had so far.