Prof. dr. Juan Rojo is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the VU Amsterdam and also staff member of the Theory group at Nikhef. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Universitat de Barcelona, then pursued a Ph.D. thesis in 2006 under the supervision of Profs. Jose Ignacio Latorre and Stefano Forte. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Paris, Milan, and CERN, and in 2014 he joined the University of Oxford faculty as STFC Rutherford Fellow and ERC Starting Grant holder. Rojo joined the VU in 2016 as Assistant Professor, being promoted to Associate Professor in 2018 and to Full Professor in 2022.
Prof. Rojo's research centers on the modelling and interpretation of high-energy particle colliders like those taking place at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva. He is an expert of applications of Artificial Intelligence to particle physics, and his work on the partonic structure of the proton is widely used across the CERN experiments. His findings are frequently featured in both Dutch and international media, and he is a regular speaker at national and international conferences.
The Physics and Astronomy Department at VU Amsterdam eagerly anticipates the appointment of Juan Rojo as new Head of Department. The department members are confident that Juan's proven track record in research and education will bring innovative leadership and a fresh perspective to the department's programs.
At the same time, the department community extend heartfelt thanks to Johannes de Boer, the outgoing Head of Department, whose dedicated service has significantly shaped the success of the department over the years. The department are grateful for the strong foundation Boer has built.