Reinhold Willcox
Postdoctoral Researcher at KU Leuven
Belgium
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolReinhold Willcox is a postdoctoral researcher in theoretical and computational stellar astrophysics at KU Leuven, specializing in rapid population synthesis of interacting massive binaries using the COMPAS code to probe progenitors of stripped supernovae and gravitational-wave sources. With a PhD from Monash and eight years of diverse research and technical experience, he focuses on robust, qualitative inferences that remain meaningful despite evolving binary physics models, comparing simulations to observables like stripped-to-non-stripped supernova fractions and pulsar velocity distributions. He combines deep computational modelling with practical instrumentation and software experience from projects ranging from pulsar signal processing for the SKA to prototyping detectors, and he brings a knack for translating complex theory into testable, observable predictions. Active in public outreach (OzGrav, CSIRO STEM programs) and mentoring through tutoring roles, he pairs rigorous research with clear science communication and community engagement.
8 years of coding experience
2 years of employment as a software developer
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), Joint Honours Physics and Mathematics, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), Joint Honours Physics and Mathematics at McGill UniversityHigh School Diploma, High School Diploma at Pingree SchoolDoctor of Philosophy - PhD, Astrophysics, Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Astrophysics at Monash University
English, French
Stackoverflow
11reputation
974reached
0answers
2questions
Github Skills (33)
cosmology10
hierarchical10
synthesis10
diffraction10
compas10
rapid10
scipy9
algorithms9
python9
scientific-computing9
jupyter-notebook8
jupyter7
notebook7
latexmk6
virtualbox6
Programming languages (7)
Github contributions (5)
reinhold-willcox/COMPAS
May 2020 - Mar 2025
COMPAS rapid binary population synthesis code
Contributions:14 PRs, 385 pushes, 171 branches in 4 years 11 months
rapidsynthesispopulation-synthesiscompas
TeamCOMPAS/TeamCOMPAS.github.io
Aug 2019 - Sep 2024
Contributions:9 PRs, 51 pushes, 6 branches in 5 years 1 month
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