Olivier Absil

Dr Olivier ABSIL

I am an F.R.S.-FNRS Research Director and Professor at the University of Liège (Belgium), head of the PSILab (Planetary & Stellar systems Imaging Laboratory) research group within the Space sciences, Technologies, and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute. I am also affiliated with the Department of Astrophysics, Geophysics & Oceanography at ULiège.

My main research topic is to design, develop, and exploit instrumentation for high contrast and high angular resolution applications in astronomy. Over the last 20+ years, I have contributed to the development of optical interferometry (nulling interferometry), and of stellar coronagraphy. In particular, I am designing, implementing, and exploiting vortex coronagraphs on various high-contrast imaging instruments, including the METIS project for the ELT. My most recent research interests focus on leveraging the power of machine learning techniques in the context of high contrast imaging.

Besides instrumentation, I am interested in the detection and characterization of extrasolar planetary systems. In particular, I have been focusing on debris disks, and exozodiacal disks in particular, which I have studied with various infrared interferometers (check out the related press releases published in 2006 and 2014). I am now mostly working on the detection (and characterization) of extrasolar planets.

Projects that I have (co-)supervised since getting tenure

Postdocs

Elena Kokoulina (ULiège) - Inner regions of protoplanetary disks (2022-2024)
Valentin Christiaens (FNRS & BELSPO) - Imaging planet formation (2021-2025)
Prashant Pathak (ERC) - Predictive control for mid-infrared coronagraphy (2021-2023)
Jyotirmay Paul (DGO6, ARC) - Wavefront sensing in lab and on sky (2020-2023)
Matthew Willson (ERC) - Focal-plane wavefront sensing for METIS (2019-2022)
Anne-Lise Maire (FNRS-MIS, ERC) - Breakthrough Watch @ VLT (2018-2021)
Christian Delacroix (FNRS-MIS, ERC) - ELT/METIS high-contrast imaging (2018-2021)
Gilles Orban de Xivry (ERC,BEWARE) - Coronagraphic wavefront sensing & Adaptive optics for medium-sized telescopes (2016-2019)
Denis Defrère (ARC, FNRS) - New concepts for exoplanet imaging (2016-2018)
Maddalena Reggiani (ARC, ERC) - Imaging young planets in transition disks (2015-2018)
Elsa Huby (ERC, FNRS) - Post-coronagraphic wave front sensing (2014-2017)
Olivier Wertz (ARC) - Robust astrometry and exoplanet orbits (2014-2016)
Pierre Piron (ERC) - Optical angular momentum in coronagraphy (2014-2015)
Pontus Forsberg (ERC) - Vortex phase mask manufacturing (at Uppsala University, co-supervision with Prof M. Karlsson, 2013-2015)
Christian Delacroix (ARC) - Vortex coronagraph design (2013-2014)

PhD students

Patricia Van de Walle Suárez (ULiège) - Enhancing high-contrast image processing with differentiable optical models (co-upervision with G. Orban de Xivry, 2025-)
İremsu Taşkın (ERC) - Advanced Wavefront Control using Deep Learning for High-Contrast Exoplanet Imaging (co-supervision with G. Orban de Xivry, 2024-)
Justin Latour (FNRS) - Imaging and characterising forming exoplanets in their birth environment (co-supervision with V. Christiaens, 2024-)
Ludo Bissot (DG06) - Predictive control for adaptive optics in optical telecommunications (co-supervision with C. Oestges at UCLouvain, 2023-)
Mariam Sabalbal (ERC) - Applying innovative HCI processing techniques to large surveys (2021-)
Sandrine Juillard (ARC) - Robust extraction of disk images from HCI data sets (co-supervision with Dr V. Christiaens, 2021-2025)
Malavika Vasist (ARC, FRIA) - Machine-learning for space-based high-contrast image processing (co-supervision with Prof G. Louppe, 2019-2025)
Rakesh Nath (FRIA) - Combining high-contrast imaging with high-resolution spectroscopy (2019-)
Maxime Quesnel (ARC) - Machine learning for focal-plane wavefront sensing (co-supervision with Prof G. Louppe & Dr G. Orban de XIvry, 2019-2024)
Carles Cantero Mitjans (ARC) - Machine-learning for ground-based HCI image processing (co-supervision with Prof M. Van Droogenbroeck, 2019-2023)
Lorenzo König (ERC) - Next-generation vortex phase masks (2019-2023)
Carl-Henrik Dahlqvist (FNRS-MIS, ERC) - Advanced image processing in high-contrast imaging (2018-2022)
Valentin Christiaens (UChile) - Imaging interactions between circumstellar disks and extrasolar planets (co-tutelle with Universidad de Chile, co-supervision with Prof S. Casassus, 2014-2018)
Brunella Carlomagno (ERC) - Vortex coronagraph design and performance (2013-2023)
Aïssa Jolivet (ARC) - Infrared coronagraphic test bench (co-supervision with Profs S. Habraken and J. Surdej, 2013-2019)
Ernesto Vargas Catalan (ERC) - Vortex phase mask manufacturing (at Uppsala University, co-supervision with Prof M. Karlsson, 2013-2018)
Carlos Gómez González (ARC) - Image processing for high contrast imaging (co-supervision with Profs J. Surdej and M. Van Droogenbroeck, 2013-2017)
Lindsay Marion (FRIA) - Infrared interferometry applied to exozodiacal disks (2013-2017)

updated on 10/3/25