Dr. Konstantin Karchev, researcher at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB), has been awarded the 2025 PhD Prize by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in the Division of Facilities, Technologies and Data Science. The award recognises outstanding doctoral research by early-career astronomers worldwide.
Karchev’s thesis,“Supernova Cosmology for the 21st Century”, represents a major advance in the analysis of next-generation astronomical datasets. His work develops a novel simulation-based Bayesian framework for supernova cosmology, designed to address key limitations in traditional approaches, such as selection biases, simplified models, and uncertainties in photometric redshifts.
The research combines high-performance GPU computing with innovative neural network architectures capable of handling complex and heterogeneous data. These tools are particularly relevant in the context of upcoming large-scale surveys, such as those from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, enabling more robust and statistically rigorous cosmological inference.
“I’m deeply honoured by this prestigious recognition for the efforts I, my doctoral advisor Roberto Trotta, and everyone I’ve collaborated with, put in towards this dissertation. I hope it inspires future scientists to think holistically about problems and solutions and to regard their academic work with pride and enjoyment”, says Konstantin Karchev.
The IAU PhD Prize is awarded annually across its nine scientific divisions, each recognising the most impactful doctoral thesis in its field. In addition to Karchev, the 2025 awardees include Maximilian Häberle (Fundamental Astronomy), Kaleb Alho (Education, Outreach and Heritage), Yi Zhang (High Energy Phenomena), Hidetaka Kuniyoshi (Sun and Heliosphere), Bibiana Prinoth (Planetary Systems), Hila Glanz (Stars and Stellar Physics), Claude Cournoyer-Cloutier (Interstellar Matter) and Abigail Lee (Galaxies and Cosmology).
All prize recipients will be invited to present their work at the IAU XXXIII General Assembly, to be held in Rome in August 2027.
