I am a researcher, radio astronomer, and software developer at Leiden Observatory and ASTRON. My work focuses on developing and improving data-reduction strategies and techniques for automated processing of radio interferometric data from the European LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) to produce wide-field sub-arcsecond resolution images on HPC clusters from Surf. Scientifically, I am also interested in studying the cosmic evolution of radio galaxies and the mergers of galaxy clusters.
Previously, I have developed data-driven machine-learning pipelines at Matrixian Group, interned as a mathematical astronomer at the European Space Agency and as a mechanical engineer at EPPM, and wrote popular scientific articles for Scientias. My educational background includes bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and Physics, an MSc in Mathematics, an advanced MSc in Space Studies, and a PhD in Radio Astronomy. I am also a co-founder of Stamily, which is a non-profit organisation that supports and connects people around the world who happen to have a stutter.
Below I listed projects I've either contributed to as a team member or lead myself.
You will find below my contributions to publications in scientific journals and some of the popular science articles and blogs that I have written for various websites.
| Title | Lead author | Journal/publisher | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scalable and robust wide-field facet calibration with LOFAR's longest baselines | J.M.G.H.J. de Jong | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | 2025 |
| PhD Thesis | J.M.G.H.J. de Jong | Gildeprint | 2025 |
| Unlocking ultra-deep wide-field imaging with sidereal visibility averaging | J.M.G.H.J. de Jong | Astronomy & Astrophysics | 2025 |
| Into the Depths: Unveiling ELAIS-N1 with LOFAR's deepest sub-arcsecond wide-field images | J.M.G.H.J. de Jong | Astronomy & Astrophysics | 2024 |
| Cosmic evolution of FRI and FRII sources out to z=2.5 | J.M.G.H.J. de Jong | Astronomy & Astrophysics | 2024 |
| Deep study of A399-401: Application of a wide-field facet calibration | J.M.G.H.J. de Jong | Astronomy & Astrophysics | 2022 |
| Benford's law in the Gaia Universe | J.M.G.H.J. de Jong | Astronomy & Astrophysics | 2020 |
Below I listed a few public software packages that I maintain.
With the Pipeline for the International LOFAR Telescope (PILOT) you can reduce LOFAR data for sub-arcsecond resolution imaging. You can find the package here.
With this package you can average visibility data over sidereal days, to enable ultra-deep interferometric imaging for a much lower computing costs. You can find the package here.
This package contains a collection of scripts to reduce radio interferometric data from the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR). Some of these are implemented in other pipelines, such as the LOFAR VLBI pipeline (a.k.a. PILOT). You can find the code here.
For one of my projects, I wrote code to simulate how a radio galaxy appears if you move them to a higher redshift. This helps to correct for selection biases. You can find the package here.
Feel free to send me an email if you want to get in touch.