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Vicente Villanueva

Postdoctoral Researcher

Vicente Villanueva is originally from Rancagua, Chile. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a mention in Astronomy from the University of Chile (2014), and a Master’s in Astrophysics/Astronomy from the University of Valparaíso (2016; Chile) and the University of Maryland – College Park (2020; USA).

He received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Maryland – College Park under the supervision of Dr. Alberto Bolatto and Dr. Stuart Vogel. During this period, he worked on the systematic analysis of various samples of galaxies in the local Universe (e.g., EDGE-CALIFA, VERTICO, ACA-EDGE), studying how the physical conditions of molecular and atomic gas influence star formation.

Currently, Vicente is working as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Manuel Aravena, analyzing the physical conditions of molecular gas, dynamics, and morphological characterization of galaxies selected from the ALMA-CONDOR project. The main goal of ALMA-CONDOR is to establish a detailed study of the dynamical state of galaxies during the epoch of peak star formation activity (cosmic noon) at kiloparsec scales, using data from both ALMA and JWST.

Projects
  • For his Master’s thesis at the University of Valparaíso, he calculated parallactic distances for over 100 low-mass stars using the multi-epoch NIR catalog from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey.
  • He actively participated in the calibration, imaging, and analysis of the galaxy sample from the Valparaíso ALMA Line Emission Survey (VALES).
  • He is an active member of the Extragalactic Database for Galaxy Evolution (EDGE) project and an observer in the EDGE GBT campaign. In addition, he contributes to the ACA-EDGE survey, studying the mechanisms driving the transition of galaxies from the star-formation main sequence to massive systems with low or no star formation activity (red cloud galaxies).
  • He is a collaborator in the Virgo Environment Traced in CO Survey (VERTICO), analyzing star formation efficiency and its dependence on environmental factors in galaxies from the Virgo Cluster (the nearest large cluster to our Local Group). He is also actively involved in the extended MAUVE survey (Multiphase Astrophysics to Unveil the Virgo Environment), which combines molecular gas observations (ALMA CO) and ionized gas (MUSE-IFU) at spatial scales comparable to giant molecular clouds (~100 pc).
  • He is a researcher in the ALPINE-CRISTAL project, investigating how the spatial distributions and kinematic conditions of stars, dust, and molecular gas in early-Universe galaxies (z = 4–6) compare with those observed in galaxies in the local Universe.
  • He is the Principal Investigator of the CHIMERA project (Co H2-Ism Molecular gas ExploRAtion), aimed at unraveling the mechanisms regulating star formation in dwarf galaxies located in the vicinity of the Milky Way and subject to extreme environmental conditions.
Highlights
  • ESO-MIXTO Grant (2025–Present)
  • NRAO SOSPADA-015 Support, USA (2022–2023)
  • NRAO SOSPA7-014 Support, USA (2020–2022)
  • ANID-FULBRIGHT Fellowship for Ph.D. studies in the USA
Publications

NASA ADS

Extracurricular activities

Music (https://vicentevillanueva.bandcamp.com), reading, hiking.

Contact me

vicente . villanueva [at] mail.udp.cl