Dr Matus Rybak
Royal Society University Research Fellow
Address
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Royal Observatory Edinburgh, Blackford Hill
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Background
2009 - 2013: University of St Andrews, UK - MPhys
2013 - 2017: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching, Germany - PhD
2017 - 2021: Leiden Observatory, the Netherlands - postdoctoral researcher
2021 - 2025: Delft University of Technology / Leiden Observatory / SRON - Veni postdoctoral fellow
2025 - 2026: Allegro ALMA Regional Center node, Leiden, NL - Program manager
2026 - ongoing: Institute for Astronomy, Royal Society University Research Fellow
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Current PhD students supervised
Valentina Paz Miranda (2026 - )
Bethany Westoby (Leiden University, co-supervised with J. Hodge and P. van der Werf)
Past PhD students supervised
Marta Frias Castillo
Celine Greis
Research summary
I am an observational astronomer, studying how stars formed in early galaxies. I am currently a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Until August 2026, I was a Senior Research Associate and Program Manager at the Allegro ALMA Regional Center node in Leiden.
My research centers on this fundamental question: How did stars in early galaxies form? I am looking for an answer by studying dense gas that directly goes on to form stars. Specifically, I use mm-wave and radio telescopes such as ALMA, NOEMA, VLA to observe very faint complex molecules which trace dense gas. I am leading PRUSSIC, the first comprehensive survey of dense gas in galaxies at redshift z>1: within a few years, we have increased the number of early galaxies with dense-gas detections from just a handful to almost a hundred.
I am also actively involved in developing and operating astronomical facilities at mm-wavelengths, both for single-dish telescopes and interferometers. I am the lead astronomer of the DESHIMA spectrometer on the ASTE telescope; led the Dutch ALMA Regional Center in Leiden, and am involved in planning for next-generation facilities AtLAST and ALMA2040.
Current project grants
Royal Society University Research Fellowship: "Revealing Dense Gas Across Cosmic History"
Past project grants
Dutch Research Council VENI fellowship (2021-2025)
Dutch Research Council Open XS Grant
Delft Space Institute Seed Grant