LEAPS is co-organised by postdoctoral researchers, research fellows, and administrative staff at Leiden Observatory and the European Space Agency (ESA) in the Netherlands. The 2026 summer school is being run by Dr. Megan Lewis (Leiden Observatory), Dr. Zak Smith (Leiden Observatory), Dr. Sam Fayolle (ESA/ESTEC), Dr. Elham Eftekhari (Leiden Observatory), Dr. Albert Elias López (Leiden Observatory), and Ms. Nancy Zhou (Leiden Observatory).
Albert is a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden Observatory. He obtained his Ph.D. in Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC), in Barcelona, Spain. His work focuses on computational astrophysical dynamos, a field that uses numerical simulations to study the process that amplifies the magnetic field in electrically conducting fluids. He focuses on internal convection that gives rise to the planetary magnetic fields, and applications to gas-giant exoplanets.
Elham is a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden Observatory. She completed her PhD at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) in 2021. Her research lies within galaxy formation and evolution, where she studies the stellar populations of massive quiescent galaxies across cosmic time. She works primarily with spectroscopic observations, particularly in the near-infrared, using data from 10-meter class telescopes such as the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and space-based observations with JWST.
Megan earned her PhD from the University of New Mexico in the United States in 2021. While in New Mexico she was also a Reber predoctoral fellow with the NRAO. She then joined the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center in Poland as a postdoc, and is now a postdoc with the Allegro ALMA regional center node at the University of Leiden. Her research interests include evolved stars, the circumstellar environment, and astrophysical masers.
Sam is now a postdoctoral research fellow at ESA/ESTEC working on the dynamics of natural satellites, after completing his PhD at TU Delft. His research focuses on linking physical modelling and radio-science observations, largely in the context of the JUICE mission, with the aim of developing dynamical models of the Galilean moons at the accuracy required to fully exploit forthcoming tracking data.
Zak is a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden Observatory studying the astrochemistry of interstellar ices across star formation, primarily using JWST. He completed his Ph.D at the Open University in the UK, graduating in 2024, after which he join Leiden. His postdoc research is centred on understanding observations of icy dust grains within protoplanetary through radiative transfer modelling. Additionally, he is the PI of the JWST program "CHEERIO" (PID: 4358), which focuses on constraining the relative ice abundances towards the edge of molecular clouds.
Nancy is part of the administrative team of Leiden Observatory. She is responsible for logistics related to LEAPS.
Astronomy Faculty & Staff
You may find more information on the current faculty and staff at Leiden Observatory here.
