Professor

Vik

Dhillon

I am a Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield, and an Affiliated Researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) on Tenerife.

Prior to moving to Sheffield in 1998, I worked at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, first at Herstmonceux/Sussex, then on La Palma, and finally in Cambridge.

I was awarded the Royal Astronomical Society Jackson-Gwilt Medal in 2013. From 2014-2019, I was an ERC Advanced Grant holder.

My primary research interests are in the field of close binary stars, in which at least one stellar component is a white dwarf, neutron star or black hole.

This work has led me and my collaborators to develop a series of high-speed cameras, ULTRACAM, ULTRASPEC and HiPERCAM, as well as a robotic telescope on La Palma, pt5m.

I am also interested in observing gravitational-wave sources in the Universe discovered by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, most likely emitted by close binary stars.

My effort in this area is currently focused on the construction of GOTO, a wide-field survey telescope on La Palma that will search for electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational-wave transients.

Career history

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow (1990-1992, University of Sussex)
• Staff Astronomer (1992-1996, Royal Greenwich Observatory, La Palma)
• Staff Astronomer (1996-1998, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Cambridge)
• Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Reader (1998-2007, University of Sheffield)
• Professor of Astrophysics (2007-present, University of Sheffield)