Rafael Martin-Domenech

My career has been developed in three institutions located in three different countries: 1) the Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB, INTA-CSIC) in Spain, where I completed my PhD Thesis, funded by a FPI grant awarded by the Spanish MINECO in December 2012 (BES-2012-056303), 2) an internship at the Institute d’Astrophysique Spatial (IAS, CNRS-University of Paris-Saclay) in France, funded by a Ayuda Para Estancia Breve grant awarded by the Spanish MINECO (EEBB-I-2015-10333), 3) the Center for Astropysics (CfA, Harvard University & Smithsonian Institute) in the United States of America, where I currently act as a Research Associate in the Solar, Stellar, and Planetary Division. My research addresses the physico-chemical processes in the interstellar medium (ISM) and their connection to the origin of life with a multidisciplinary approach, encompassing: 1) Experimental simulations of the formation and evolution of complex organic molecules (COMs, that could have contributed to trigger the prebiotic chemistry on Earth) in interstellar ice mantles. 2) Detection of such species in star-forming regions by means of radio-telescope observations. During my career, I have collaborated with researchers from Spain, France, Germany, Italy, USA, and Taiwan, and I am currently a member of the GEMS team, formed by 34 scientists from 7 countries, devoted to the exploitation of observational data from an IRAM 30 m telescope Large Program. I have published 26 peer-reviewed articles (11 as a first author) and one book chapter, with over 490 citations in the Web of Science, and an H-index of 13. I also have 16 contributions in international conferences and workshops. During my PhD thesis I acquired a proficient knowledge on the use of ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) equipment, a microwave-discharged hydrogen-flow UV lamp, and two analytical techniques: Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry, as well as the IDL software for the analysis of the results. The thesis included cutting edge research in the field of ice photodesorption, that is required to explain the presence of COMs in the gas phase of the coldest regions in the ISM. I provided new insights on the different photodesorption mechanisms in play, that we were able to discriminate during the laboratory simulations, and reported the first measurements of the photo-chemical desorption mechanism. The thesis also included experimental results on the thermal processing of realistic ice analogs, that represented a benchmark for the analysis of measurements performed by the ESA-Rosetta cometary mission on comet 67P. Regarding the study of the gas phase of the ISM with radio-telescope observations, I was PI of two successful observational proposals (ESO – PROPOSAL ID: 092.C-0030 and ALMA – PROPOSAL CODE: 2013.1.00352.S), that revealed, after reduction and analysis with the CASA and MADCUBA softwares, the presence of CH3NCO (a molecule of prebiotic interest) for the first time around a solar-type protostar. These results were echoed by different media dedicated to science dissemination due to their relevance for the origin of life, leading to my participation in different interviews and press releases. Finally, I was doctorated with Cum Laude and International mentions by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in May 2017. During my current postdoctoral fellowship at the CfA (Harvard University), I have expanded my experimental expertise working with two different UHV experimental setups, one of them including an in-house tunable laser system and a low-energy electron gun as energy sources. The results, analyzed with the Python software, have revealed that the energetic processing of the apolar layer of interstellar ices, barely studied thus far, can also contribute to the complex organic chemistry of the ISM. In addition, I have made use of my group ALMA observational data, that has revealed the presence of organic chemistry around two low-mass protostars, one of them classified as Class I, being only the fourth source of this kind with observed complex organic chemistry. My expertise in the field of astrochemistry allowed me to participate as a lecturer in the "Astrochemistry's cool" international school offered by the Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo in 2014, and I have recently been invited to give a review talk on the topic of laboratory experiments and theoretical computations for the ACO Conference held in Torino (2021). At Harvard University, I have acted as an external senior thesis reader of an undergraduate student, and been a co-supervisor of a Harvard PRISE summer research project. I have also acted as a referee in various journals (Nature Astronomy, A&A, MNRAS, ApJ), and I will participate as a reviewer in the NASA’s APRA Program 2022 Laboratory Astrophysics Review Panel. The APRA program funds basic research proposals for investigations that are relevant to NASA's programs in astronomy and astrophysics.